One of the many proven veteran players that the Oakland Raiders brought aboard this offseason was Doug Martin on a one-year deal. His arrival has brought many questions in terms of what his role will be within the offense behind Marshawn Lynch.
A major part of this will depend on Martin’s health as he has struggled to stay on the field over the last couple of seasons. However, head coach Jon Gruden has continued to speak quite highly of the 29-year-old voicing that the team is quite ‘pleased’ to have him aboard according to Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride:
“We’re also very pleased with Doug Martin,” said Gruden Wednesday over conference call with season ticket holders.
“A lot of people may have fallen asleep on Doug Martin,” Gruden continued. “He’s a two-time All Pro back, he had almost 1500 yards in two different seasons. He has not looked good here, he has looked great.”
Through his first six seasons in the league, Martin has had a roller-coaster ride in terms of production as he has fallen below 500 rushing yards four times. Meanwhile, the other campaigns he notched more than 1,400 rushing yards while earning his only pair of Pro Bowl selections in those years.
This alone has made it hard to truly depend on his production as he has had much inconsistency in his level of production throughout his career. He is also coming off a disappointing 2017 NFL season where he recorded a career-low 406 rushing yards on a career-worst 2.9 yards per attempt in 11 games played. This included posting more than 70 yards twice while falling short of double-digit rushing yard totals on three occasions.
With this fresh opportunity with the Raiders along with playing alongside another proven running back in Lynch could lead to him putting together a productive campaign as a part of a dynamic tandem in the backfield.
