The Oakland Raiders got one of the top free agent steals
The Oakland Raiders got one of the top bargains on the 2019 NFL Free Agent market in running back Isaiah Crowell, who is extremely underrated.
The Oakland Raiders spent a ton of money in free agency bringing in players like their new left tackle Trent Brown, their new playmakers at receiver in Antonio Brown and Tyrell Williams, and some new defensive playmakers like Lamarcus Joyner and Brandon Marshall.
Although the Raiders have been moving through free agency at the pace of an expansion franchise and spending money like it’s burning a hole in their pockets, they managed to get one player at a bargain price how is also entering perhaps the best years of his football career.
That player is running back Isaiah Crowell, who signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with Oakland and could end up being their starting running back.
Isaiah Crowell is on the move to Oakland to join the Raiders backfield. pic.twitter.com/RuG3vlPecC
— PFF (@PFF) April 1, 2019
Crowell has shown top back qualities throughout his career, whether in college or in the NFL. He has been a solid rotational back for both the Cleveland Browns and the New York Jets, and could really come into his own with the Raiders.
He broke into the NFL in 2014 with eight touchdown runs after things didn’t work out for him at Georgia and he wound up at Alabama State.
Crowell’s off-field issues pushed him out of the NFL Draft but he has averaged 4.3 yards per carry for his NFL career and averaged 4.8 this past season with the Jets, tying his career high.
He has shown he can be very effective with about 12 touches per game, but the Raiders shouldn’t shy away from making this guy their bell cow back going forward. He is on a modest one-year contract, but Crowell has everything you look for in a modern NFL running back.
He’s powerful, deceptively fast, and can make guys miss in the open field. He’s so big at 225 pounds that defenders can’t rely on arm tackling to get him to the ground, either.
He showed in 2016 he could be a relatively high-volume receiver, catching 40 passes.
Next. Top options to replace veteran QBs. dark
The Raiders don’t have an overly clear running back situation right now and while the door is open for Marshawn Lynch to return, the addition of Crowell will help them sleep at night leading up to the 2019 NFL Draft, where they can use their second or third round pick to get arguably one of the top 3-5 backs in this year’s class, which is not considered strong at the top but deep in general.