Silver Minings: Jon Gruden wants to get Kenyan Drake a lot of touches

It was a bit surprising this offseason when Kenyan Drake chose to sign with the Las Vegas Raiders. You figured he likely would have gone somewhere where he’d have a starter role, but instead Drake opted for a backup role with the Raiders. He still got paid at least, as he signed a two-year deal worth $11 million with $8.5 million guaranteed this offseason.

Well it turns out that Drake could see much more work than initially thought. Here’s what Raiders head coach Jon Gruden recently said during an interview on “The Raiders Report” TV show.

“Doug Martin had 190 touches three years ago when [Marshawn] Lynch went down,” Gruden said. “DeAndre Washington had 144 touches when Jacobs went down two years ago. And this past year, Josh went down and DeVonte Booker got 110 touches. So we’re going to try to circulate the touches Kenyan Drake’s way. He’s a guy that’s made big plays.”

Last season was a career-year Drake had a career-high 955 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns last season for the Cardinals, along with 25 receptions for 137 yards.

Josh Jacobs is still the Raiders’ guy. He had a solid season last year, and I don’t see them having him split carries. However, Drake did earn himself a nice payday, so it’s tough to imagine they won’t try and get him a solid workload.

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