Grading the pick: Raiders make an Al Davis-like pick and help one of their best players out in the process
The Las Vegas Raiders let everyone know they wanted another RB to have a 1-2 punch with Jeanty, and now they have that with Mike Washington.
The Las Vegas Raiders balanced their draft out with an offensive pick in Mike Washington Jr., the former Arkansas Razorbacks running back. Washington is 6’1, 223 pounds, and has 33-inch arms. He’s huge, massive some would say, but does not move that way at all. The way he moves, you’d think he’s smaller.
Washington ran a 4.33 40-yard dash, a 10-yard split of 1.51 seconds, a vertical jump of 39’’, and a broad jump of 10’ 8’’. Washington had a RAS score of 10.00, which is a perfect score. It’s safe to say he’s a beast. Last season, he had just over 1,000 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in an offense in which the quarterback, Taylen Green, also ran frequently.
Mike Washington is perfect for Ashton Jeanty
Jeanty played as a rookie on the league’s lowest-ranked offense and still finished just under 1,000 rushing yards. He ranked 7th in total carries with 266, but only 18th in total rushing yards. 780 of his 975 rushing yards came after contact, and he led the league with 43 broken tackles. Jeanty handled a significant workload as a rookie. Notably, he accumulated 750 carries in three years at Boise State and over 1,000 in four years overall at the college level.
Transitioning to the NFL, where the physical demands and season length are greater, maintaining such a workload is especially challenging for running backs. Given the typically brief careers for the position, it is analytically prudent for Kubiak to reduce Jeanty’s workload. Washington can be that perfect backup and 1-2 punch to Jeanty, similar to what Kubiak had with Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.
Mike Washington Jr. Scouting Report
Arkansas Razorbacks running back Mike Washington Jr. is a super-sized runner with a proverbial jetpack attached to his back. If you’re looking for a home run hitter in the backfield from this year’s class, Washington Jr. is going to be your best bet as a side of Jeremiyah Love. Washington Junior offers prolific speed relative to his monstrous size and creates conflict for defenders who are charged with tackling him in the open field. There are times when you wish he ran behind his pads more often to stay on schedule, but that is something that can be worked on at the next level. He projects favorably to both gap schemes between the tackles and also working outside zone, where his speed can create overflow before he cuts back against the grain to gouge the defense up the middle. He’s got low tread on the tires to help justify an ambitious investment in this down running back class, too.
Kyle Crabbs
A to Z Sports Draft Team
Final grade
The Raiders moved up to get their guy, and there’s a strong possibility he wouldn’t have been there at No. 134, where they were before the trade. There were several teams ahead of them that had a need at running back. Washington may not be able to be a starting RB in the NFL right away, but he can certainly be an amazing backup RB right away. This pick is perfect.
GRADE: A-
