The Las Vegas Raiders haven’t been able to establish the run successfully in 2020. Although they ran the ball effectively against the Cleveland Browns in Week 7, they have had a hard time getting the running game going in other games. That has to change if they want to become a more complete team and giving running back Devontae Booker more carries should help them accomplish that.
The Raiders need to feed Devontae Booker the ball
Through seven games in 2020, Booker has racked up 25 carries for 155 yards. Moreover, he’s averaging a whopping 6.2 yards per rush. With that kind of production, you would think the Raiders would be willing to get ’23’ involved on offense, but that hasn’t been the case. Booker is averaging 3.57 carries per game. That’s simply too little when you take into account that Josh Jacobs is getting 21 per game.
Jacobs had a great rookie campaign. In his first year in the NFL, the Alabama standout amassed 242 carries for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns. Moreover, his 4.8 yard-per-carry average was more than one yard higher than his 2020’s 3.6. While some of that has to do with the injuries that have marred the offensive line, the Raiders should consider decreasing the sophomore’s load.
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Josh Jacobs needs to catch his breath
After all, Jacobs ran the ball a career-high 31 times against the Browns. He finished the game with 129 yards, but it’s against the team’s best interest to give him that kind of workload knowing they also have Booker on the roster. Jacobs may be the better back of the two, but it doesn’t make sense to run him to the ground, especially when he has been frequently shown up in the team’s injury report.
If the Raiders want to keep Jacobs healthy for a potential playoff run, they have to feed the ball to Booker more often. His number of carries doesn’t even have to increase that much, five more should be enough to get him involved while keeping Jacobs fresh.
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