How do you follow up a spinning karate kick after a touchdown?
That will be one of the reasons to watch running back Ameer Abdullah on Sunday when the Raiders host the Vikings at 1:25 p.m. PT in the team’s second exhibition game.
Abdullah made like Daniel LaRusso after scoring from 8 yards out against the Jaguars in the Hall of Fame Game last week. It was a nice punctuation for the league’s first touchdown of the new season.
10/10 Form
10/10 Celly pic.twitter.com/kC3WPsH20H— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 5, 2022
It also served as a spirited introduction to Raiders fans. One of the developing battles for roster spots is between the seven-year veteran — Abdullah has 1,574 rushing yards and 865 receiving yards for the Lions, Vikings and Panthers — and returning veteran Kenyan Drake. Drake is coming off ankle surgery and may have already been given a roster spot by many observers.
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But new Raiders coach Josh McDaniels loves the smell of competition at training camp.
“(The players have) all heard the same thing that we’ve said since we got here,” McDaniels said last week. “Which is, competition makes us all better. And they’re going to earn their role on the team. We don’t have it predetermined.”
Here are the five players — three of them are running backs — to watch closely in the preseason game.
Ameer Abdullah, RB
Rookie fourth-round pick Zamir White said that Abdullah and Josh Jacobs have been valuable resources as he learns the ropes.
“They hit me up every day with stuff,” he said. “They’re great guys.”
But Abdullah is here for more than being a resource. He is here to make the roster, and the best way to do that is not to get ahead of yourself — or worry about making the roster.
“You just take it one day at a time,” he said last week. “That’s what my father has always told me. You can’t live too much in the future, that breeds anxiety. You can’t live too much in the past, that breeds depression. Just staying present. Keeping everything that’s right in front of you, which is what you can control.”
Like Drake, Abdullah has had more success catching the ball out of the backfield than running it. But the 5-foot-9 sparkplug prides himself on being a well-rounded player.
“I’ve kind of made myself a Swiss Army knife throughout my career, whether that’s playing first-down back, third-down back or a special teams guy,” Abdullah said. “For me right now, I just enjoy playing the game wherever that may be. I think that’s why I fit in with this team. I think that’s why I get along with a lot of guys because we got a lot of guys who are just willing to go out there and play ball, and that’s what it’s about.”
Kenyan Drake, RB
Drake is entering the second season of a two-year, $11 million contract given to him by Jon Gruden. It was a lot for a backup running back, and it was even weirder because Drake wasn’t used often until Gruden resigned midseason and Greg Olson took over play calling.
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The new staff speaks well of him, but he is not their guy. His rehabilitation from the ankle surgery has gone well, and Drake says he is not going to cloud up his positive energy by worrying about getting enough touches in his contract year.
“I’m going into my seventh year, man,” Drake said last week. “It’s actually surreal kind of thinking about it, being one of the old heads. … It’s about running my own race. There’s a lot of things I have to continue to work on. I feel like there is a lot of things and people around me that I have to lift up, like the young guys and the rookie in the room. My job is to bring my level of expertise to the room and then disperse that energy and that knowledge to everybody that needs it, and vice versa.
“I’m big about energy. I’m big about making sure that everybody around me feels comfortable with me going out there and doing my job, and vice versa. … I love playing for this team, I love playing for this city and I love playing for the guys around me.”
The energy will pick up for Drake with nice runs Sunday.
Austin Walter, RB
Lost among Jacobs, White, Drake, Abdullah and former Patriots running back Brandon Bolden is Austin Walter. Raiders fans were wondering who that guy was that ran for 49 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. It’s only preseason but he ran hard and made quick, effective cuts.
Walter, 25, has 27 career carries in three seasons with the Giants, 49ers and Jets — with all but one of those carries coming last season with the Jets — and is more than just a running back.
“Austin made a play in the kicking game, too,” McDaniels said. “He’s one of the first guys down on the kick cover team. He’s down here inside the 20-yard line, making contact with the returner. He plays really hard, made a couple of really nice runs, made some people miss in the secondary.
“So yeah, there’s no question that he showed up (Thursday), he’s competing hard. He’s open-minded to whatever role we asked him to compete in and, again, he’s added competition to our backfield, no question.”
Thayer Munford Jr., OT
Brandon Parker’s injury has opened up more reps for Thayer Munford Jr., the seventh-round pick out of Ohio State.
“Thayer has really put his head down and just worked every day,” McDaniels said before practice Friday. “He’s gained confidence as we’ve moved along, which is just typical for young players if they put in the time and effort. He has played against some good competition.”
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The backup tackle job is wide-open and, yes, pedigree matters.
“He handled some good edge rushers, he’s competed in a really good league, he’s played a lot of good football over his career at Ohio State,” McDaniels said, “so he’s learning how to apply what he’s done and now what he’s learning at our level in our league, and like all rookies has a long way to go, but I really like his approach. (He) works hard each day to try to get better at something, and he’s definitely made progress because of what he’s done.”
Luke Masterson, LB
Masterson moved from safety to linebacker at Wake Forest and had 13 tackles for loss and 2 1/2 sacks and was named the defensive MVP of the Hula Bowl. The undrafted free agent is a project, but one who is learning quickly.
“He’s still making that transition,” linebackers coach Antonio Pierce said Friday. “Working on his eyes, working on the physicality, just the technique and fundamentals to play linebacker. I think what he’s really embraced more anything else has been — I call it the commander in front of the defense — leading those guys. I thought what he did the other night was really impressive.
“He was a very active kid in the game right away. He was throwing his body around. Talking about being physical, I thought he was physical, using his hands. He did a pretty good job tackling, only one missed tackle for him.”
Darien Butler, undrafted out of Arizona State, has gotten a lot more attention, but Pierce said both linebackers are coming on strong.
“Just that constant improvement,” Pierce said. “Both those guys, Darien Butler and Luke, have done outstanding jobs of asking questions, putting in the extra time. They’re probably one of the first two guys in the building and the last ones to leave.”
(Top photo of Ameer Abdullah: Kirby Lee / USA Today)