Earlier today, running back John Crockett, linebacker Brady Sheldon and offensive linemen Kareem Are, were signed by Raiders via the team’s official website. These appear to be summer “camp bodies” at worst and depth and special teams’ moves at best.
In part one of this series, we took a look at the top three quarterbacks of the Oakland Raiders’ “Dark Age”. I’ve deemed this time with such gloom immediately after the Raiders lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2002 NFL Super Bowl up through the 2013 season, the season before Derek Carr, Khalil Mack, and Gabe Jackson were drafted. During this period the Silver and Black combined for a total record of 53-123. So now we will take a look at the best running backs during from this disastrous period.
Of all the positional groups heading into The Oakland Raiders 2017 season, it’s hard to ignore the potential of the stable of running backs. This was an unproven group prior to the 2016 season with former Raider Latavius Murray being their only experienced back at the time. That year, Murray faced minimal competition before he earned the starting role. The battles for the depth was settled among added 5th round draft pick DeAndre Washington, (Legendary Raider George Atkinson’s son) George Atkinson III and an unknown UDFA in Jalen Richard. Despite some highlight reel moments from Atkinson III, the retention of promising camp back Jalen Richard sealed Atkinson’s tenure with the Raiders.
