Oakland Raiders: Running back George Atkinson III impresses

The Oakland Raiders didn’t need another reason to be optimistic for the season, but a blowout win and big performance by George Atkinson III will do…

As if the Oakland Raiders and their fans needed another reason (or many reasons) to be excited and optimistic about this season, they got rewarded for some good player development in their first preseason game with a breakout performance from running back George Atkinson III.

Atkinson, a former undrafted player out of Notre Dame, has bounced on and off the Raiders’ practice squad and active roster since 2014.

The former high school track star was a top 100 recruit and chose to play at Notre Dame where he was effective as a backup running back and kickoff returner. He had two return touchdowns in his career, and saw some action in 2014 with the Raiders as a kickoff returner.

As a running back, Atkinson has always been known as a guy who has great straight line speed but sort of lacks in other areas of his game. His progression appeared to be trending upward as of the Raiders’ first pre-season game, a blowout win over the Arizona Cardinals.

There’s some really great vision, quickness, and burst to the second and third level on this run here. He breaks a tackle basically running diagonally, and turns on the jets to get past the last line of defense for Arizona. That’s an incredibly impressive looking run for a young back known more for his special teams ability.

But Atkinson wasn’t done…

This is just flat out incredible to me. It’s an ability to stop on a dime, then accelerate quick enough to get himself into the end zone for touchdown number two.

The Raiders list Atkinson at 6-1, 218 pounds. If he can provide this type of running as a reserve for the offense while also becoming an asset on special teams, we could be seeing the emergence of a really key role player.