Raiders' Updated Depth Chart, Salary Cap After Reported Kenyan Drake Contract

Joseph Zucker @@JosephZuckerFeatured ColumnistMarch 18, 2021

Arizona Cardinals' Kenyan Drake runs the ball during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)

Noah K. Murray/Associated Press

The Las Vegas Raiders found some support for Josh Jacobs on the ground.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported the Raiders agreed to a two-year, $11 million contract with Kenyan Drake. The running back can earn up to $14.5 million based on unspecified incentives.

Prior to his arrival, Las Vegas had just under $14.1 million in available salary-cap space, per Spotrac.

Drake will immediately become the No. 2 option in the running game behind Jacobs.

Raiders Offense Depth Chart

QB: Derek Carr, Marcus Mariota, Nathan Peterman, Kyle Sloter
RB: Josh Jacobs, Kenyan Drake, Jalen Richard, Theo Riddick
FB: Alec Ingold
TE: Darren Waller, Foster Moreau, Derek Carrier, Nick O'Leary, Nick Bowers
WR: Henry Ruggs III, Zay Jones, Marcell Ateman, Trey Quinn
WR: Bryan Edwards, Keelan Doss
WR: Hunter Renfrow, John Brown
LT: Kolton Miller, Brandon Parker, Jaryd Jones-Smith
LG: John Simpson, Erik Magnuson
C: Andre James
RG: Denzelle Good, Lester Cotton
RT: Sam Young, Kamaal Seymour

Depth chart via Ourlads

Jacobs is coming off his first Pro Bowl nod, running for 1,065 yards and 12 touchdowns while catching 33 passes for 238 yards. His yards per carry fell from 4.8 to 3.9, but that might be more the result of an offensive line that Pro Football Focus' Ben Linsey ranked 24th in the league.

That raises obvious questions about whether Las Vegas needed to make this kind of investment in another running back.

Tashan Reed @tashanreed
#Raiders are going to pay Kenyan Drake more than Josh Jacobs to be the backup for Josh Jacobs. Meanwhile, they still need starters at free safety and nickelback on what was the worst defense in franchise history last year. I don't get this one.

Robert Mays @robertmays
It was fun for those 10 minutes yesterday when Raiders fans were like, "Don't worry, they're cutting all these expensive offensive linemen to rebuild their defense."

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Drake enjoyed a strong year-and-a-half with the Arizona Cardinals, running for 1,598 yards and 18 touchdowns in 23 games. Over his five-year career, he has also posted 169 receptions for 1,244 yards and six scores.

Still, the 27-year-old hasn't been an elite pass-catcher out of backfield, thus making it difficult to envision him as the perfect aerial complement to Jacobs.

The money the Raiders are giving Drake is also money they won't be able to use on their offensive line, which lost Trent Brown, Rodney Hudson and Gabe Jackson this offseason.

Perhaps head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock have something up their sleeves, because otherwise Las Vegas' offseason business hasn't made a ton of sense.