The Oakland Raiders need a boost to give their offense a jump start, and Jon Gruden thinks Doug Martin can be feature the back the team needs.
Martin is in his seventh NFL season. While he exploded onto the scene with an amazing rookie year, he's fallen off. During his rookie campaign for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Martin rushed for 1,454 yards and 11 touchdowns. He eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark one other time in his career, when he rushed for 1,402 yards during the 2015-16 season. Martin has been backing up Marshawn Lynch so far in his first season with the Raiders, but due to injury, he'll get his chance to be a starter once again.
From Michael Gehlkin of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“Doug’s a feature back,” said Gruden. “He’s had 1,300 yards in this league twice. He’s practiced hard. He’s ready to go. I think you’ve all seen Jalen Richard has carved out a unique role. …We’ll try to get more out of him as we have in recent weeks.”
Jon Gruden has centered the Raiders' offense around passing, but they just traded away Amari Cooper, their top receiver. The Raiders rank 29th in the NFL in rushing yards, totaling just 555 so far this season. The Raiders are 1-5, so they'll be shot out of luck if Doug Martin doesn't pan out.
If Martin can return to the form that made him a two-time Pro Bowler, the Raiders might be able to make this season look a little less embarrassing. Regardless, a lot of adjustments need to be made before the franchise is successful again.
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