Raiders HC Klint Kubiak looks brilliant for Mike Washington Jr. pick

The Las Vegas Raiders' 2026 NFL draft class was pretty productive throughout training camp and the preseason. One of the prospects who immediately stood out was running back Mike Washington Jr. It's possible the Raiders got a fourth-round steal in Washington. Washington was excellent during the preseason, rushing for 168 yards via just 23 attempts. The former Arkansas standout averaged 7.3 yards per carry. Washington 4.33 speed (NFL Combine) was routinely on display. Raiders general manager John Spytek spoke with the media on Tuesday following this past weekend's 53-man roster cuts. Spytek gave head coach Klint Kubiak all of the credit for drafting Washington, even saying his coach "stood on the table" for the prospect. "Well, I'll give Coach [Klink] Kubiak a lot of credit for this one," Spytek said about Washington. "He [Kubiak] stood on a table for that kid at the start of day three, and this is the perfect scheme fit and we can make this player into a good player, he has what we're looking for. And so, it's hard for any rookie to really carve out meaningful minutes and be as productive as you want them to be. And Mike certainly had a great preseason, nobody's taken that away from him, but it gets very real, very fast here now. But I think we're all excited about the track that Mike is on, and I think we have an expectation that he's going to help us win football games this year." Spytek sounded intentional when pumping the brakes on Washington's preseason hype. He's still a fourth-round rookie who was drafted to support Ashton Jeanty, the No. 6 overall selection from the year prior. Jeanty is still the Raiders' bellcow, but Washington looks capable of playing an exciting change-of-pace role. This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders HC Klint Kubiak looks brilliant for Mike Washington Jr. pick