Don’t be surprised if Raiders use Lynn Bowden Jr. under center

Lynn Bowden Jr. | Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Rookie’s versatility could lead to a Taysom Hill-type role at times 

When the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Lynn Bowden Jr. out of Kentucky, there were many questions.

Did the Raiders have a plan of making Bowden a wide receiver like he was mostly with the Wildcats? Were the Raiders intrigued by his emergency work as a quarterback for last year?

It soon was realized that Bowden would primarily be a running back for the Raiders. However, coach Jon Gruden made it clear he would move around the offense and that Bowden would play the Joker role, meaning he’d play several positions and the best way to describe him would be as a “weapon.”

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Taysom Hill

On Tuesday, Las Vegas offensive coordinator Greg Olson said that could also mean Bowden could play quarterback in the way the New Orleans Saints use Taysom Hill.

“Very similar to what it was in college. Right now, we have him working out of the running backs room. He’s meeting with Kirby Wilson, our running back coach, so we’ve got him at the running back but also he’s had to learn a lot of things we do at the quarterback position,” Olson said in quotes distributed by the Raiders. “You’ve seen the game changing from year-to-year, the use of RPOs, the use of the Taysom Hills and those type of players that play that RPO style offense in college they become valuable for us. And we believed that he can transition and be a running back as well as do some of those plays at the quarterback position that he did in college.”

Basically, what Olson is saying is the Raiders have a new toy and they are going to use Bowden as much as they can. Bowden was a total Gruden playbook selection. He is the type of player that could give Gruden the play-call versatility he dreamed about his entire coaching career and the Hill-like wrinkle only enhances Gruden’s imagination.

Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride.

from Silver And Black Pride - All Posts https://ift.tt/2DjKcG4