The Las Vegas Raiders have now answered their biggest offseason question after the team struck a deal with the Seattle Seahawks for quarterback Geno Smith, with the Raiders giving up a third-round pick in the trade.
Now, the Raiders must turn their attention to beefing up the rest of the roster, and that includes on the offensive side of the ball, where Las Vegas needs to add help both at wide receiver and running back.
In order to remedy their need at the latter position, Pro Football Network’s Sterling Xie predicts the Raiders will sign Los Angeles Chargers pending free agent and running back, JK Dobbins.
Snatching J.K. Dobbins from the division rival Chargers could be the first step towards rectifying that. There’s certainly some risk to Dobbins’ profile. He had a 36.4% rushing success rate, which ranked 32nd out of 50 players with 100+ rush attempts. Additionally, he missed four games with a sprained MCL and has played just 22 of a possible 51 games in the last three years.
In space, Dobbins looked electric at times, but his -8.7% boom/bust rate ranked 41st among 73 qualifying backs (minimum 50 touches). He ranked 16th in average yards before contact per rush but was down at 31st in yards after contact.
The Chargers took a flyer on the oft-injured Dobbins, and the move paid off. He did miss four games but still posted the best season of his career with 905 rushing yards, 153 receiving yards, and nine touchdowns.
Meanwhile, the Raiders sported the league’s worst rushing attack in 2024, and their leading rusher, Alexander Mattison, is set to be a free agent. Sincere McCormick showed some promise near the end of the campaign, but he’s not locked-in as the Raiders’ starter and must show more.
With the 2025 NFL Draft offering a great running back class, veteran backs like Dobbins might find it difficult to land the contract they want, which could make him cheaper than he otherwise would be. His injury history won’t help, either.
Spotrac projects Dobbins will garner a two-year, $8 million deal in free agency, a price that Las Vegas will have no issue affording.
While there are no doubt injury concerns with Dobbins, he would make sense for the Raiders. Las Vegas can sign Dobbins to serve as a bridge option and can then turn around and draft someone to be the long-term answer in April.
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