I have some interest in Raiders rookie running back Dylan Laube. He's just a sixth-round pick who played his college ball at New Hampshire. But he's got a lot of experience in the passing game, and the Raiders have a need in that area.
Zamir White (pictured) will start, and maybe he'll also be the primary back on third downs. But he wasn't a big part of the passing game last year, catching 15 balls for 98 yards, with 1 or no catches in two of his four late-season starts. If the Raiders want to work in a second back, they can do better in this area, and that could be Laube.
It's not free agent signing Alexander Mattison. Mattison was mostly disappointing as a runner last year, but he was pretty inefficient as a receiver, too. There were 31 running backs to see at least 40 targets a year ago, and only three caught a lower percentage of the balls thrown their way than Mattison. (With Bijan Robinson, we can make an excuse considering the quarterbacks he was working with, but Mattison had Kirk Cousins for most of the season.)
| RBS IN THE PASSING GAME, 2023 (40+TARGETS) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Run | Tgt | No | Rec | TD | Catch% |
| Rachaad White, T.B. | 990 | 70 | 64 | 549 | 9 | 91.4% |
| Isiah Pacheco, K.C. | 935 | 49 | 44 | 244 | 9 | 89.8% |
| Samaje Perine, Den. | 238 | 56 | 50 | 455 | 1 | 89.3% |
| Chuba Hubbard, Car. | 902 | 44 | 39 | 233 | 5 | 88.6% |
| Alvin Kamara, N.O. | 694 | 86 | 75 | 466 | 6 | 87.2% |
| Roschon Johnson, Chi. | 352 | 40 | 34 | 209 | 2 | 85.0% |
| Brian Robinson, Was. | 733 | 43 | 36 | 368 | 9 | 83.7% |
| Zach Charbonnet, Sea. | 462 | 40 | 33 | 209 | 1 | 82.5% |
| Jaylen Warren, Pitt. | 784 | 74 | 61 | 370 | 4 | 82.4% |
| Tony Pollard, Dall. | 1005 | 67 | 55 | 311 | 6 | 82.1% |
| James Cook, Buff. | 1122 | 54 | 44 | 445 | 6 | 81.5% |
| Antonio Gibson, Was. | 265 | 59 | 48 | 389 | 3 | 81.4% |
| Joe Mixon, Cin. | 1034 | 64 | 52 | 376 | 12 | 81.3% |
| Javonte Williams, Den. | 774 | 58 | 47 | 228 | 5 | 81.0% |
| Christian McCaffrey, S.F. | 1459 | 83 | 67 | 564 | 21 | 80.7% |
| Breece Hall, NYJ | 994 | 95 | 76 | 591 | 9 | 80.0% |
| D'Andre Swift, Phil. | 1049 | 49 | 39 | 214 | 6 | 79.6% |
| Travis Etienne, Jac. | 1008 | 73 | 58 | 476 | 12 | 79.5% |
| Ezekiel Elliott, N.E. | 642 | 65 | 51 | 313 | 5 | 78.5% |
| Rhamondre Stevenson, N.E. | 619 | 51 | 38 | 238 | 4 | 74.5% |
| Tyjae Spears, Ten. | 453 | 70 | 52 | 385 | 3 | 74.3% |
| Jahmyr Gibbs, Det. | 945 | 71 | 52 | 316 | 11 | 73.2% |
| Jerome Ford, Cle. | 813 | 63 | 44 | 319 | 9 | 69.8% |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | 656 | 43 | 30 | 233 | 3 | 69.8% |
| Austin Ekeler, LAC | 628 | 74 | 51 | 436 | 6 | 68.9% |
| Josh Jacobs, L.V. | 805 | 54 | 37 | 296 | 6 | 68.5% |
| Saquon Barkley, NYG | 962 | 60 | 41 | 280 | 10 | 68.3% |
| Alexander Mattison, Min. | 700 | 44 | 30 | 192 | 3 | 68.2% |
| Bijan Robinson, Atl. | 976 | 86 | 58 | 487 | 8 | 67.4% |
| Kyren Williams, LAR | 1144 | 48 | 32 | 206 | 15 | 66.7% |
| Miles Sanders, Car. | 432 | 41 | 27 | 154 | 1 | 65.9% |
Laube's percentages at UNH aren't available (I couldn't find target data), but he was a busy receiver the last two years. He caught 117 balls for 1,163 yards and 9 touchdowns the last two seasons. Lower level of competition, but to hear Antonio Pierce talk about him (including praising him in pass protection), he's encouraged: "Sometimes you watch film in college and think well…the guy played at New Hampshire. Can he do that at the NFL? Woo…..he’s working.”
Too early to hand that job to Laube. White, Mattison and Ameer Abdullah (44 catches the last two seasons) are also in the mix. But positive camp reports so far, and he's been getting some first-team chances in this area. Worth a look in the exhibitions.
--Andy Richardson