The Las Vegas Raiders are going to have a very busy offseason. After removing the interim tag from Antonio Pierce and making him head coach full-time time and hiring Tom Telesco to take over the front office, attention is turning to how to fix the roster.
Las Vegas has a few glaring needs on the roster they need to address. The quarterback position is the one people are keeping the closest eye on as the Raiders have been linked to several players, including Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears.
Will they look to bring in a player to supplant Aidan O’Connell, who showed flashes during his rookie season after being a fourth-round pick? Or someone just to push and compete with him for the starting job?
Another position on the offense that could look different in 2024 is running back. Josh Jacobs put together an incredible 2022 campaign and was unfortunately rewarded with a franchise tag. No long-term deal was agreed to and his value took a hit in 2023 with his production dropping.
After leading the NFL in rushing, touches and total yards from scrimmage in 2022, Jacobs struggled to find his stride in 2023. Skipping portion of training camp certainly didn’t help as he got off to a very slow start. He also missed four games, which provided Zamir White a chance to lead the backfield.
White, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Georgia, took full advantage. He took over as the team’s starter in the final four games of the season and put up numbers similar to what Jacobs had provided the year before.
The Raiders were able to lean on him heavily, taking pressure off of O’Connell and going 3-1 down the stretch. In those four games, he carried the ball 84 times for 397 yards and one touchdown. He added nine receptions for 60 yards, showing some dual-threat ability out of the backfield.
With all eyes on him during those games, some tough sledding was expected. Despite having Davante Adams at wide receiver, teams weren’t afraid of the Raiders’ passing game with O’Connell leading it. Despite that, White found a way to get the job done.
One of the more impressive stats that he compiled was his ability to gain yardage after being hit. As shared by Ian Hartitz of MB Fantasy Life, White gained 2+ yards after contact on 74 percent of his rushes. That was tied for the highest percentage in the NFL with Tyler Allgeier of the Atlanta Falcons.
That is an impressive statistic for White, who has proven hard to tackle and willing to grind out the tough yardage. With Jacobs set to hit free agency again this offseason, the Raiders have to decide whether or not they want to bring him back. If the answer is no, at least they know they have a ready-made replacement in White.
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