Do the Raiders already have their go to short yardage back on the roster?

The Oakland Raiders are expected to let Latavius Murray walk in free agency. And while they have the dynamic duo of Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington to carry most of the load for the running back position, there is a belief among many that the Raiders need to bring in a short yardage specialist to compliment the two youngins.

I have been one of those strongly leading the charge for the Raiders to bring in a short yardage back, preferably through the draft. But then a tweet from Just Blog Baby and Raiders Beat contributor Ryan got me thinking about whether Jamize Olawale might be that guy for the Raiders:

Everyone wants a “big back” but no one wants to hand the ball off to Olawale huh? https://t.co/Z4UoVs9zIQ

— Ryan (@StillRyanFive) March 1, 2021

I responded to that tweet saying that I didn’t think short yardage was Olawale’s specialty. I see him more like a Marcel Reece, surprisingly fast and therefore a difficult matchup for defense. Ryan’s response to my tweet motivated me to write this piece:

Have we seen him in that “role” enough? https://t.co/FgmjU3ZG08

— Ryan (@StillRyanFive) March 1, 2021

And to be honest, I didn’t know the answer to Ryan’s question so I went back and looked at every short yardage run that Olawale has had in his career. And for the purpose of this piece, I have defined a short yardage run as any situation where the Raiders need 2 yards or less to get a first down or a touchdown.

Let’s see how Olawale has done:

2016 - 8 attempts, 50% conversion rate

2nd and goal from the 2 yard line - two yards, touchdown

3rd  and 1 - 11 yards, first down

3rd and 2 - No gain, no first down

3rd and 1 - No gain, no first down

3rd and 2 - 17 yards, first down

1st and goal from the 1 yard line - 1 yard, touchdown

2nd and goal from the 1 yard line - No gain, no touchdown

3rd and 1 - Lost 3 yards, no first down

2015 4 attempts. 100% conversion rate

2nd and 1 - 6 yards, first down

3rd and 2 - 2 yards, first down

4th and 1 - 5 yards, first down

3rd and 2 - 2 yards, first down

2014 2 attempts, 0% conversion rate

3rd and 1 - No gain, no first down

3rd and 1 - No gain, no first down

CAREER TOTAL: 14 ATTEMPTS, 57% CONVERSION RATE

As it turns out, Ryan is at least partially right. Olawale has only ever had 14 short yardage attempts in his career. That’s not exactly a big sample size to judge him by. But for what it’s worth, the 57% conversion rate on those 14 attempts definitely leaves something to be desired.

So at the end of the day, I still don’t believe that Olawale is the answer on short yardage plays, but I also am willing to concede that perhaps we don’t have enough of a sample size to know that he wouldn’t do better in those situation given more opportunities.