It’s no secret that select NFL personnel have begun devaluing the running back position over the past few years. Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek isn’t one of those people, however–not by a long shot.
“I don’t know where we got to a place where we don’t feel like running backs are valued,” Spytek said in response to a question about Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. “I come from the University of Michigan. It’s in my core. Those guys were certainly really valued there. It’s hard for me to get away from that.”
While Spytek shied away from talking about Jeanty specifically, he made sure to stress how he feels about the position Jeanty plays. Spoiler alert: Spytek believes the position is of great importance.
“We just saw Saquon Barkley change the Eagles in one year,” Sin City’s general manager said. “[Philadelphia] had a great team around him and it was adding an elite player, and I think, when you sit where we sit, the idea is to add an elite player at any position.”
Of course, some of Raider Nation would be quick to point out Barkley’s sensational offensive line; a unit that helped the Penn State alum win the Offensive Player of the Year Award in 2024.
But, don’t underestimate the Raiders’ offensive line, either.
While the unit struggled early on, things became much better once rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson, who struggled at guard, moved to center in Week 9. This allowed Jordan Meredith to come in at guard, who finished the season as one-of-17 guards league-wide with both a run- and pass-blocking grade of 70-plus via Pro Football Focus.
At center, Powers-Johnson also earned a grade of 70-plus as both a run- and pass-blocker. Kolton Miller looked much better as he got healthier, too.
Raiders GM John Spytek, like Pete Carroll, doesn’t devalue running backs
“I don’t try to devalue any certain position,” Spytek continued on the subject of running backs. “I mean, there’s times in games where there’s nobody you’d rather have than the best kicker in the league.”
Holding running backs in high regard is something both he and Pete Carroll certainly have in common. In Carroll’s last 11 drafts with the Seattle Seahawks, a running back was taken in the second-round or higher on four occasions.
That doesn’t include Marshawn Lynch, who was a staple in the Seahawks’ offense for a number of years. It also doesn’t include Chris Carson, who also rose to a starting job in Seattle for some years.
And, as it became trendy to devalue running backs, Carroll stayed true to himself. In his last six drafts with the Seahawks, Pete Carroll welcomed three running backs to the team by way of either a first- or second-round selection.
That includes his last two years in Seattle, where he selected a running back in the second round twice.
Both Carroll and Spytek are firm believers that running backs are of great importance to the NFL. Jeanty hasn’t been continuously mocked to the Raiders at six for no reason, after all.
But will Jeanty be the selection at sixth-overall in late April? We’ll find out in just over one week.
