While the Las Vegas Raiders used the sixth overall selection on running back Ashton Jeanty last year, the offense headed into the 2026 NFL draft needing to find a complement for Jeanty in the backfield. General manager John Spytek found one in the fourth round, adding former Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. to the roster.
Washington gained notoriety during the NFL Combine by measuring in at 6-foot-1, 223 pounds and clocking a 4.33-second 40-yard dash while also recording a 39-inch vertical
jump to earn a 9.90 Relative Athletic Score. In a way, that summarized his season as the former Razorback was one of the most explosive running backs in College Football this year.
Of his 1,066 rushing yards, 515 came on “breakaway” runs (15 yards or more), according to Pro Football Focus. That was 14th among all FBS backs and fourth in the SEC, and Washington’s 17 breakaway runs were tied for 12th and tied for fourth in the same respective categories. In other words, Washington is a big play waiting to happen.
So, let’s flip on the tape and see what he brings to the Raiders’ offense.
Washington is known more for his straight-line speed than lateral movement skills, especially after clocking the impressive 40-time, but it’s not as if he’s completely devoid of the latter.
Arkansas is trying to run iso on this play, but the playside defensive tackle blows up the left guard off the line and gets immediate penetration to take away the B-gap and be in a position to make a tackle for loss. However, the back hits a jump cut to get on the other side of the guard and avoid the contact, showcasing his agility. On top of that, the other guard is losing control of his block, so the back has to change directions again and get up the field.
Washington’s speed now becomes a big factor. He manages to break a couple of angles on the second level, running through a couple of arm tackles in the process, too. The latter is a significant part of his game, where his combination of size and speed stands out.
Another aspect of the fourth-round pick’s ability to create explosive plays in the running game is that he sets up blocks down the field well. That’s seen when he reaches the 50-yard line here, stemming inside to get the cornerback (No. 8) to try and cross the wide receiver’s face before bouncing back outside to tack on another 15 yards.
So, a play that could have easily been a loss for the offense ends up being an explosive gain that flips the field.
Building on the rep above, this is another good example of the second-team All-SEC performer’s ability to set up blocks down the field.
The Razorbacks run inside zone against a light, five-man box from Texas A&M. However, the Aggies are blitzing one of their safeties (No. 3) to get a numbers advantage. That means the MIKE linebacker (No. 0) doesn’t have to account for both A-gaps because either the 2i-technique defensive tackle or safety can fill the hole on the backside.
However, Washington presses the line of scrimmage and favors the backside A-gap to get the linebacker to work across the center’s face. Now, the defense has two defenders in one assignment, and the running back takes advantage by pivoting to the other side of the center to hit the rushing lane the backer should be in. Then, it’s off to the races, where the 4-33-speed breaks the free safety’s (No. 25) angle to create another explosive play.
This is also a rep that new head coach Klint Kubiak is going to like with his zone-run-heavy scheme.
Speaking of Kubiak, let’s dive into another impressive zone run from the fourth-round pick.
Arkansas runs mid-zone where the running back’s aiming point is in the weakside B-gap, and Washington presses the line of scrimmage to get those second- and third-level defenders to start coming downhill. That helps make the left guard’s block on the WILL linebacker (No. 18) easier, as the guard can get a hat on the backer and keep him from pursuing outside.
With a clog of bodies in playside gaps and the defensive end trying to cheat or take a peek into the B-gap, Washington makes the correct read to bounce outside. That’s where pressing the line pays off, because the guard can stay attached to the linebacker and the free safety’s angle changes from going downhill to toward the sideline. As a result, the safety can’t get a clean tackle on the 223-pound ball carrier and ends up getting trucked for a touchdown.
While Washington doesn’t have much wiggle to juke defenders out, his size and speed combination can make him tough to take down. That’s apparent on this rep and in the handful of arm tackle attempts seen previously. For the record, he forced 34 missed tackles last season, which ranked sixth among SEC running backs according to PFF.
Arkansas used Washington on pull-lead concepts from the shotgun a lot last season, likely to get him on the perimeter and take advantage of his speed and ability to set up second-level blocks.
On this one, the play call helps create a rushing lane in the C-gap. The tight end uses an outside jab step off the line to keep the edge defender wide before releasing to the second level to pin the linebacker inside, who has to stay on the backside for a second with the RPO action at the top of the screen. Meanwhile, the playside puller kicks out the edge to maintain that rushing lane in the C-gap.
With five out of six box defenders accounted for, the offense has a two-on-one advantage with Washington and the backside puller against the strong safety. That’s where Washington’s skill set comes in, as he gets the safety to commit outside to make the puller’s block easier. On top of that, he makes a good cut up the field to stay in the rushing lane before putting a nice move to make the other safety miss and put his team in scoring position.
We’ll wrap up with one more example of how the former Razorback’s vision and one-cut ability can make him a good fit in Kubiak’s offense. While Arkansas is running iso rather than a zone run call, Washington essentially turns it into inside or mid zone with how he reads it.
With the safety (No. 4) playing about six yards off the line of scrimmage, Texas has a numbers advantage with eight defenders in or near the box against seven blockers. Also, the right guard gets hung up climbing to the second level and is late to pick up the MIKE linebacker (No. 18), so all of the frontside gaps are plugged up.
However, the running back manages to save the day by pressing the line of scrimmage to keep those defenders coming downhill and pursuing to the playside of the call. Also, he recognizes that the defensive end has gotten too far in the backfield and washed inside by the right tackle to create an unexpected rushing lane. So, right before breaking the line, Washington puts his outside foot in the ground and cuts backside.
He hits the hole in the lane mentioned above, which effectively makes the right guard’s block correct (meaning the guard is still between the defender and ball carrier) and takes advantage of the defensive end getting washed inside. That’s what’s meant by Washington turning this into a zone run because his original aiming point is to follow the fullback in the C-gap, but he uses his vision to make the defense wrong by cutting backside.
All of that leads to yet another explosive run.
It will be interesting to see how the Raiders split the workload between Jeanty and the rookie, as that remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain, Las Vegas is getting a home-run hitter, and we’re not talking about the A’s. Also, it helps that Washington should seemingly fit in well with Kubiak’s offense, especially since the coach likes to deploy a two-back system.
