After spending the No. 6 overall pick within the 2025 NFL Draft to pick out Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty, the Raiders still finished the season with the fewest rushing yards within the league. A few of that may be attributed to offensive line play, and a few of that may be attributed to the utter lack of offense around him. This is a component of the explanation that Las Vegas used one other valued draft pick this 12 months to pick out Arkansas rusher Mike Washington Jr. within the fourth round.
In line with Ryan McFadden of ESPN, recent head coach Klint Kubiak saw Jeanty’s 266 carries in 2025 — as compared to Raheem Mostert‘s 22, Zamir White‘s 12, and Dylan Laube‘s seven — and decided that a two-RB system could really profit the offense by lessening the load on Jeanty’s shoulders. Obviously, the addition of No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza is supposed so as to add some balance to the offense, as well, but as Mendoza either learns on the job or watches veteran Kirk Cousins start until he’s ready, that balance will not be immediately available.
Within the meantime, Las Vegas will hope it will possibly depend on Washington to spell Jeanty and supply a change of pace for the offense. Jeanty is a smaller, stouter back, measuring in around 5-foot-8 and 211 kilos. He lacks elite top-end speed but has great burst to get to top speed quickly. Jeanty holds immense strength and, starting so low to the bottom, can out-leverage most would-be tacklers to interrupt through arm tackles and weak attempts. He may be elusive along the road with patient footwork and is a reliable blocker and receiver from the backfield.
Washington is a much bigger back at just over six feet tall and 225 kilos. He also owns that top-end speed that Jeanty lacks, posting a position-best 4.33-second 40-yard dash on the NFL Scouting Mix. While that top-end speed is great within the open field, Washington’s limited burst can hurt his short-field production when attempting to beat defenders across the edge. Despite being larger than Jeanty and possessing an identical strength, Washington’s upright running style takes away from his ability to complete runs with violence and break tackles with power. He’s a powerful pass catcher — mostly within the screen game — but his pass blocking will need development at the subsequent level.
When putting the 2 side by side, it’s easy to see how they complement one another and the way effective they is perhaps if they might fuse their best traits into one body, but it is going to be as much as Kubiak to decipher how best to combine the backs in his 2-RB system. It’s a challenge that Kubiak welcomed, though, and Washington is in prime position to satisfy his coach’s desires in adding one other element to the offense that ought to help Jeanty blossom.