Raiders RB Mike Washnington Jr. was in a unique situation last season that should allow him to adapt to Klint Kubiak’s scheme quickly
The Las Vegas Raiders had to go get a backup running back for Ashton Jeanty to help him carry the workload.
Last season, the Las Vegas Raiders were the worst team in the NFL at running the ball. In 2026, that could change drastically. New head coach Klint Kubiak is known for having an efficient offense, and with efficiency usually means a great run game. So, he drafted Mile Washington Jr. to try to create a dynamic duo in the backfield.
And the best part is, Washington Jr. can be exactly what the Raiders need in their scheme.
“Coming from pro-style offense at Arkansas, we excelled at wide zone, also inside zone, so I have a familiarity with it,” Washington told reporters. “So, I believe that I could come in and really, that would be my advantage, having familiarity with running a wide zone at Arkansas.”
Ashton Jeanty will need Mike Washington Jr.’s help.
This is great news for Ashton Jeanty. Bringing on Washington could help the Raiders get more out of Jeanty in 2026.
However, Jeanty will not be alone in this responsibility. While he was not ineffective, introducing another running back to share the workload may boost his importance early in his career. For context, Jeanty played as a rookie on the league’s lowest-ranked offense and still finished just under 1,000 rushing yards.
Jeanty’s statistics demonstrate his effort: he ranked 7th in total carries with 266, but only 18th in total rushing yards. Despite this, 780 of his 975 rushing yards came after contact, and he led the league with 43 broken tackles. He handled a significant workload as a rookie, accumulating 750 carries in three years at Boise State and over 1,000 in four years overall.
Understanding Jeanty’s role, Washington can see he is being brought on to help the run game and support Jeanty. The good part is that there shouldn’t be any adjustment period in running a new or different scheme than Washington is familiar with.
