Raiders RB Latavius Murray will lose some snaps to Washington in passing situations, but his overall workload should be close to last season’s, as head coach Jack Del Rio wants to run the ball more.
“I want to have more rushes,” Del Rio said. “I don’t want him to have less. If anything, maybe a little more, but I want him to be more productive. We’re working on becoming a team that’s capable of running the ball well. We never really, truly established that last year.”
One underrated part of Murray’s game is his pass-blocking, and that’s why he won’t lose too much time to two 5-foot-8 rookies.
“He doesn’t miss protections,” Derek Carr said. “He sticks his face in there and keeps me clean. That’s the most important job a running back has. You’ve got to protect the quarterback.”
For a 25-year-old running back coming off of a 1298-yard season, Murray isn’t getting a lot of love. He rushed for a very mediocre 4.0 YPC, but he handled 71.6% of the team’s running back touches. On paper, the team improved its offensive line and defense this offseason, which could result in more favorable game scripts and more touches for Murray. He’ll have to fend off Washington, whom the Raiders drafted in the 5th round.
