Zamir White

The Jacobs successor that didn't pan — from 145 rushing yards in Week 16 of 2023 to 32 total yards across 5 games in 2025.

After Josh Jacobs was sidelined late in 2023, Las Vegas handed White the lead role for the final four weeks. He took it: 84 carries, 397 rushing yards (4.73 YPC) across Weeks 15-18.

When Jacobs left for Green Bay the next offseason, White was supposed to be the answer. Instead his YPC collapsed from 4.34 to 2.82 in 2024, the team imported veterans, and in 2025 he's been a healthy scratch most weeks — 5 appearances, 12 carries.

Why it matters. White was the heir apparent after Josh Jacobs left — he had the audition and the role, but never converted either into sustained production. His decline is a cautionary tale about small-sample breakouts.

The 4-game audition: 397 yards and a 145-yard Christmas day at Arrowhead.

White's career-defining stretch is these four games. The 145-yard outing at Kansas City on Christmas day was the headline — he averaged 6.6 yards a carry on 22 attempts in a 20-14 Raiders win. He followed with another 100+ at Denver in Week 18.

Four games, 84 carries, 397 yards. The Raiders saw enough to let Jacobs walk; both the GM and head coach who made that call were gone within a year.

Why it matters. Four games is a tiny window, but they defined his NFL trajectory — the Raiders used them to justify letting Jacobs walk in free agency. The 145-yard Christmas performance at Arrowhead remains the most-watched game of his career.

2024 YPC of 2.82 — the worst full-season mark by a lead Raiders back in over a decade.

Across his 8 games as the 2024 lead back, White never exceeded 50 rushing yards — his best was exactly 50 yards on 17 carries against Cleveland in Week 4 (2.94 YPC).

The only scoring play: a 1-yard rushing TD in Week 9 vs Cincinnati — on a 6-carry, 10-yard day (1.67 YPC). The Raiders had effectively benched him by midseason; his last appearance came in Week 11, and the RB1 work then cycled to Alexander Mattison and Sincere McCormick.

Why it matters. A 2.82 YPC over 65 carries is not a slump — it is a statement. It confirmed that the 4-game 2023 audition had more to do with matchups and Josh McDaniels' play-calling than White's actual ability as an NFL feature back.

In his 4-game 2023 audition he ran for 397 yards. In all of 2024-2025 combined, he has 215.

The split is brutal:

- 2023 Weeks 15-18 (4 games as lead back): 84 car, 397 yds (4.73 YPC), 1 TD - 2024 + 2025 combined (13 games): 77 car, 215 yds (2.79 YPC), 1 TD

More games. Fewer yards. About 41% fewer yards on similar volume. The 4-game stretch that won him the job ended up being the high-water mark.

Why it matters. The ratio makes the audition look like an outlier, not a preview. Two seasons of lead-back work produced fewer yards than a 4-game hot streak — a striking illustration of how quickly the window closed.

Career stat line: 198 carries, 736 yards, 2 rushing TDs — 4 years into being a 4th-round pick.

White was the 122nd pick of the 2022 draft (Round 4, Raiders). By the end of 2025 he completed his rookie contract with a career line of 198 carries, 736 yds, 2 rushing TDs across 37 games.

For context: that's about the production an average RB1 puts up in half a season. His 2025 game log tells the story: three appearances in Weeks 1-3, then a 13-week absence (Weeks 4-16), then two token carries to close out the season in Weeks 17-18. He's pending UFA next offseason.

Why it matters. The career line quantifies the gap between the promise (top 4th-round pick, heir to Jacobs) and the delivery. 37 games, 4 seasons, a rookie contract — and less production than Kyren Williams or Tyler Allgeier accumulated in a single good year.

The 2022 draft class passed him by: Kyren Williams, picked 42 spots later, has 5.2× more career rushing yards.

Among the 14 running backs taken in rounds 3-5 of the 2022 draft, Zamir White ranks 7th in career rushing yards (736).

The standout: Kyren Williams, drafted in the 5th round at pick 164 — 42 spots after White — has 3,834 career rushing yards, a 5.2× advantage. Williams went to the Rams and became a 1,200-yard starter. White went to Las Vegas, had a 4-game audition in 2023, and has been phased out since.

Even Ty Chandler (pick 169, 5th round) nearly matches White's total despite significantly fewer opportunities.

Why it matters. Draft capital isn't destiny, but 42 picks of separation with a 5.2× production gap is a stark measure of how differently two similar investments turned out.