Do the Raiders have the running backs to revive the run game?

Ashton Jeanty’s arrival undoubtedly bolsters Las Vegas backfield

There wasn’t a worse ground game in the NFL last season than the Las Vegas Raiders.

Ranked 32nd in the league in several categories — total yards gained (1,357), yards per attempt (3.6), yards per game (79.9), and first downs gained (78) — the Silver & Back were the epitome of dead last in 2024.

While the Raiders didn’t finish last in rushing touchdowns, the team had 10 which put them at 27th out of the 32 squads, the teams to have less endzone visits on the ground each had more total yards, yards per game, and yards per carry.

Lets put it in perspective: 12 individual running backs had more rushing touchdowns than Las Vegas had. The Baltimore Ravens’ Derrick Henry, the Detroit Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs, and the Buffalo Bills’ James Cook paced the NFL with 16 touchdowns while ex-Raiders and current Green Bay Packers’ tailback Josh Jacobs visited the end zone 15 times on the ground last season.

Ouch.

Recognizing the Raiders needed a jolt in the ground game, the new regime led by general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll didn’t play any games in the 2025 NFL Draft. The duo selected electrifying Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick. And the 5-foot-8 and 211-pound dynamo’s arrival in the desert undoubtedly bolsters a flatlined backfield.

Yet, the valid question remains: Does Las Vegas have the running backs to revive the run game?

I know Raider Nation’s response that query: The Raiders better have the tailbacks to make things go.

Jeanty’s arrival, on paper, is the cherry on top of the Raiders’ reconstruction of the running back room as a prospect with generational-type talent. But before Spytek and Carroll spent a premium draft pick on the Boise State standout, Las Vegas’ GM signed veteran Raheem Mostert in free agency. The 33-year-old super veteran comes off a downward 2024 campaign with the Miami Dolphins that saw him play in 13 games (one start) and gallop for 278 yards on 85 carries and two touchdowns.

That performance was a far cry from his 2022 and 2023 campaigns that saw the Purdue product churn out 891 yards and three touchdowns on 181 carries in 16 games (14 starts) in ‘22 and 1,012 yards and a league-leading 18 touchdowns on 209 carries in 15 games (15 starts) in ‘23.

Despite his age, however, compared to other running backs who’ve played for 10 total years, Mostert has comparatively more tread on his tires with just 759 total carries to his name. If that sounds like a lot to you, let’s compare Jeanty’s workload at Boise State: 750 total carries in 40 games for 4,769 yards and 50 touchdowns over the course of three seasons from 2022-24.

With Jeanty in tow, Mostert is afforded the opportunity to be a change-of-pace back that has scintillating speed both as ball carrier and pass-catching option as a receiver out of the backfield. Even at his advanced age, the 5-foot-10 and 205-pound running back still can break away from defenders and leave them plenty gassed.

That duo is joined by several incumbents who are looking to rebound under the new regime.

That group includes Zamir White (a fourth-round pick, 122nd overall, in the 2022 draft), Sincere McCormick (undrafted free agent), Dylan Laube (sixth-round pick, 208th overall, 2024 draft), and Chris Collier (undrafted free agent).

White, who turned a corner in 2023 only to have an emphatic face plant in effectiveness and production in 2024, is a power back-type and still young at 25 years of age. McCormick, meanwhile, showed promise as a low center of gravity-type back in limited action in 2024 before an ankle injury ended his season. Laube was a late-round pick in last year’s draft that never found his footing in his rookie year despite being an intriguing option as a special teamer and pass-catching back. While Collier is a special teamer listed as a running back.

Chip Kelly’s arrival as offensive coordinator should be a boon for the entire running back room. He’s a creative play caller who varies the ground game to get the best from his group and keep defenses guessing and on its toes by deploying outside zone, power, zone read and option concepts.

For White, in particular, a power run scheme is where his best work arrived with the Raiders in 2023. He’s a downhill runner who is best suited for power or gap schemes where he can quicky hit the hole and break through traffic at 6-feet and 215 pounds.

A clean bill of health and continued consistent performances in practices are likely to keep McCormick in the mix. He was the running back revelation last season only to hit IR, but brings similar contact balance, vision, and a mix of power and speed to the table that Jeanty brings.

Training camp will tell us plenty as the rookies report July 17 with veterans following July 22. That’s when pads come on and we’ll see the running backs go to work, and — more importantly — the Raiders offensive line shape up.

After all, it’s those five in up front and in the trenches that’ll dictate a lot of Las Vegas’ rushing production in 2025.