Corps Players: Fullbacks

This is the sixth piece in a series that will look at each position – the additions, subtractions, and pre-training camp depth chart as I see it. This is also the final offensive positional group.

For the wide receiver corps, click here.  For the tight end corps, click here.  For the offensive line, click here. For the quarterbacks, click here. For the running backs, click here.

The Raiders have carried two fullbacks, Marcel Reece and Jamize Olawale, on the active roster for each of the last two seasons and both players return to the team this season. With that in mind, the fullback position seems to be pretty set, right? Not so fast!

While it’s true that the Raiders could easily bring both players back again this year, it’s also true that the Raiders’ roster appears deeper and better this year than in previous years and it may not be practical for the team to keep two players at a position that many teams don’t carry at all in today’s pass-heavy NFL.

In order for the team to carry both Reece and Olawale on the roster at least one and, realistically, probably both will need to play a lot of special teams. Both Reece and Olawale played special teams a decent amount last year with Olawale playing a role in every game.

It seems quite possible that this is the year that a change occurs in one way or another. The team tried to work Marcel Reece into the mix more last season but he struggled, dropping passes from Carr and failing to make much of an impact on the ground on the passes he did pull in. He seemed to have lost much of the explosiveness that made fans so excited about him.

I suppose it’s also possible that the team would keep Olawale and cut Reece, although that seems less likely simply because Olawale hasn’t shown that he is substantively better in either the run or pass game.

There are many teams who do not carry a fullback at all, anymore, so it’s also possible the team would go without a fullback whatsoever but that possibility seems very remote, especially considering Reece’s upside.

Taking all of that in mind, I assume that the team brings back Reece as it’s primary fullback but I am less convinced that Olawale makes it. While that scenario is certainly possible, the team may want to get another player at a position that is more necessary – like CB or LB, for example. Those players can also play on special teams and are more likely to be needed in the event of injuries than are backup fullbacks.

At the end of training camp, the Raiders will be looking to bring the best 53 players onto their initial team squad. I am not convinced that those 53 players will include two fullbacks this year.