Las Vegas Raiders rookie Mike Washington Jr. was undeniably the offense's most impactful running back in the Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The 122nd overall selection rushed for 43 yards on nine carries, averaging 4.8 yards per attempt. Meanwhile, Ashton Jeanty really struggled to get anything going, gaining just 22 yards on 10 carries (2.2 per attempt).
It's fair to start wondering if the Raiders should increase Washington's role on offense.
In total, Washington has rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries. The former Arkansas standout is averaging a healthy 4.9 yards per attempt. That ranks 8th-best in the entire NFL among backs with a minimum of 30 carries.
Jeanty has been significantly less effective on a per-carry basis, with
a season-long average of 3.2 yards per attempt. Jeanty has been held under 4.0 yards per carry in every game this season since Week 1. To state the obvious, they are running behind the same Raiders offensive line.
Jeanty has been hampered by ankle and foot injuries. Klint Kubiak's workhorse is playing through the ailments. It's plausible that those injuries are severely limiting his production.
Washington has been excellent and efficient on a per-carry basis. Sure, his yards per attempt would likely decrease with a larger sample size, but his 1.7 YPA lead over Jeanty (reminder, 4.9 versus 3.2) indicates he still lead Jeanty in this metric.
Perhaps the Raiders offense needs to strongly consider giving Washington more carries.
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Does the Raiders offense need more Mike Washington Jr.?
