Part of the reason the Las Vegas Raiders hired Klint Kubiak as head coach this offseason is because of his impressive rushing attack. The Seattle Seahawks ranked 10th in the NFL in rushing yards, totaling nearly 2,100 yards during the 2025 regular season en route to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy last February.
Kubiak accomplished that with a two-running back system, as Kenneth Walker III accounted for 221 rushes for 1,027 yards (4.6 ypc) and five touchdowns while Zach Charbonnet had 184 carries, 730
yards (4.0) and 12 touchdowns. For the Raiders, that made finding a complement to 2025 first-round pick Ashton Jeanty a priority during the offseason, drafting former Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. in the fourth round last April.
Las Vegas’ need for a second running back can be crossed off the list on paper, but training camp brings the hard part: learning and mastering Kubiak’s complex playbook.
This offense—which has been in the NFL for decades and was passed down to Klint by his father, Gary Kubiak—includes a lot of checks and adjustments based on the defense and requires a collection of detail-oriented coaches and players to execute at a high level. That can make it difficult for a rookie to pick up, and Washington admitted as much, telling local reporters on Aug. 11 that it’s a “hard playbook” and that he “started off slow” in camp.
The fourth-round pick also said he’s starting to get more comfortable in the Raiders’ system, though, and it sounds like the coach is doing a good job of setting the standard.
“It makes our room a better room,” Washington said of Kubiak being focused on the details. “Like you said, he’s very detail-oriented, so he doesn’t want us running a route how we run it, but how he wants it because everything is scheme-based and concept-based. So, it makes our room a detailed room.”
Getting into the nitty-gritty of the Arkansas product’s role in the Raiders’ offense, he described himself as a “downhill runner” and “punishing back” who is “hard to catch”. Running for over 1,000 yards and 6.4 ypc as a Razorback last year, while clocking a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at 223 pounds during the NFL combine serves as evidence and is part of what the coaching staff is looking for him to bring to Vegas’ backfield.
“Really just being physical and coming in and running with that mindset,” Washington replied when asked what he’s looking to bring to the rushing attack. “When you run with a physical mindset, nobody really wants to tackle you. Especially being a bigger back, nobody really wants to deal with that physicality.”
On top of that, Kubiak likes to get his running backs involved in the passing game. Walker and Charbonnet combined for 51 catches and 426 receiving yards a year ago, with the former finishing as the Seahawks’ fourth-leading receiver and the latter recording the fifth-most receptions on the team. According to local reporters, that’s also been noticeable about the Raiders’ offense in training camp, and will be on Washington’s plate.
“Definitely something that I’m still getting better at,” the running back said of being comfortable in the passing game. “Being in [Bobby] Petrino’s offense back in Arkansas, he kind of put me everywhere. And then coming here, it’s kind of the same thing where coach [Kubiak] is very detail-oriented, so he wants the best for us, and he wants to put all the running backs in different positions. So, whether it’s in the slot or having us out wide, he puts us everywhere.”
For running backs, involvement in the passing game also comes with involvement in pass protection. That can often be the steepest learning curve for young backs, especially with the evolution of simulated pressures and how overall complex NFL defenses have become. To help flatten the curve, the rookie has been putting in work off the field and leaning on the rest of the room.
“Really just been watching film, honestly,” Washington replied when asked about improving in this phase of the game. “Meeting with my running back coach, talking to [Ashton] Jeanty and Dylan Laube. They’ve been great mentors with me in pass protection and understanding the game, because it is different compared to how it was coming out of college.”
And the results of Washington’s work ethic have been noticeable to the coaching staff.
“Mike’s been great, man,” running backs coach Omar Young said on Aug. 3. “He really worked his butt off during the offseason, and you could really tell and see that. And it’s a great deal for him to just be able to come out here every single day and put forth and show the work that he put on in the offseason and let it come to fruition. So, I’m really proud of him and excited to see what he continues to do.”
