Raiders offense 2024: Running backs competition is healthy
Zamir White is eager to break through and showcase he’s capable of being the Las Vegas Raiders lead running back this coming season.
Having to look over their shoulders is a healthy thing for the Las Vegas Raiders running backs. Especially considering the team tinkering with the position group’s hierarchy under coach Carnell “Cadillac” Williams.
Expected to use a running back by committee approach — something general manager Tom Telesco hinted soon after he was hired as chief personnel man for the Silver & Black — Las Vegas did add more talent to the room in both free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft. While Zamir White is slated to be No. 1 of the position group, the team brought back veteran Ameer Abdullah, added Alexander Mattison via free agency, and made New Hampshire’s Dylan Laube a sixth-round pick (208th player taken overall) this past April.
In total, the Raiders have six running backs on the 90-man roster: White (6-foot, 215 pounds), Mattison (5-foot-11, 220 pounds), Abdullah (5-foot-9, 203 pounds), Laube (5-foot-10, 208 pounds), Brittain Brown (6-foot-1, 205 pounds), and Sincere McCormick (5-foot-9, 205 pounds).
White — a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft (122nd overall) — will be given every opportunity to showcase he’s the top option in the backfield.
After providing glimpses of lead-back capability in former starter Josh Jacobs’ stead — 451 yards and a touchdown on 104 carries; 98 yards on 15 receptions — the 24-year-old Georgia product is primed to prove last season’s performance wasn’t a one-year hit fluke. And White has the proper mindset heading into the Raiders’ 2024 campaign.
“Like I said before, last year was last year, and now I’m in this new role, and it’s a whole new ground for me,” White said during media availability after Las Vegas’ OTA session. “So, just keep on grinding it out, working, learning from the backs in the room and just progress.”
And White knows the change in mindset is more than on-field performance. He’s changing the way he carries himself now that Jacobs is gone and the No. 1 running back role is up for grabs.
“Most definitely, because last year my role was more like a quiet guy just like, when they need me, I’m here,” White noted. “But yeah, that’s about it last year-wise. But now I have to grow back into that vocal leader and I’m just showing them on the field, every single day.”
But don’t count out other tailbacks from getting snaps. Each brings something to the table that that can be complementary to one another.
Mattison, Abdullah, and Laube profile as more capable receivers out of the backfield when compared to White. Not to say White can’t develop that skillset, but he wasn’t used much in the passing game at Georgia and only received 19 total targets in his first two years in the league — albeit in limited opportunities and snaps because of Jacobs’ workhorse tendency. Mattison, who was the Minnesota Vikings third-round pick in 2019 and spent five seasons with the team before signing with Las Vegas, was targeted a career-high 44 times last season (30 catches for 192 yards and three touchdowns), while Abdullah topped White’s 19 targets with 24 (19 receptions for 131 yards) in 2023. Laube was a do-it-all at small school New Hampshire that hauled in 68 passes for 699 yards and seven touchdowns in his final collegiate season.
The competition will ramp up and the separation between the tailbacks will eventually develop with the pecking order coming to light.
But at this stage of the offseason, it’s all about learning new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense and getting it installed in Las Vegas. Williams is taking the “do the little things right and the big things take care of themselves” approach with his running backs room and it’s a solid opportunity for all six to learn and get guidance from a former player (the fifth overall pick in the 2005 draft, no less) who knows the rigors of playing in the league.
For every tailback, it’s about making an impression on the coaching staff and showcasing must-have versatility.
“Downhill, fast and physical, that’s my mindset. I just hope that I can be of value in pass protection, catching the ball out the backfield and definitely in the run game as well,” Mattison said on what he brings to the Raiders offense. “So, yeah, I just like to try and be as versatile as I can, be a smart player and play downhill, fast, and physical.”
White and Mattison have plenty in common as both were complementary players to unquestioned lead backs in their respective careers — White to Jacobs and Mattison to Dalvin Cook. And Mattison is imparting that to his new teammate and taking the all-for-one mindset.
“It’s as difficult as you make it,” Mattison said when asked how hard it is going from backup to starter. But with the right guys, with the right group, with the right coach, it makes that process a lot easier. So, for us to be able to have a good group of backs, there’s some young guys in the room but we’re all relative to one another in that sense, and we help one another. If I have a question, Ameer’s [Abdullah] there, Zamir’s [White] there. If he has a question, I’m here. It’s one of those things where we all help each other out in learning a new system and we’re all in this together. And yeah, so far it’s working out, and so far, we’re taking those right steps in the right direction.”
With mandatory minicamp come and gone, the next opportunity for the running back room to make an impression and create separation comes next month when the team convenes for training camp in Costa Mesa, Calif. Laube, for example, did good work during minicamp and for a young player, that’s vital. Equally as important for any tailback is proving their value on special teams, too. Abdullah was a core special teamer last season and Laube can be one too, especially as a return man where he shined at New Hampshire.
But as mentioned above, Raiders running backs having to look over their shoulders isn’t a bad thing.
It’s quite the motivation, actually.