Mike Washington Jr. ran the fastest 40-yard dash of any running back at the 2026 combine, then slid to the fourth round. The Raiders traded up to grab him at No. 122. That is not buying testing numbers. That is buying a discount.
PFSN’s Football Debate Club asked whether Las Vegas got real value or just bought the workout. Jacob Infante and Ian Cummings agreed: real value. The case rests on where he went, not just how fast he ran.
Why Mike Washington Jr. Is Real Value for the Raiders
Infante drew the line at the price.
“If Washington ended up in that second or early third round that a lot of people were talking about, that would have been buying into the hype,” Infante said.
“Washington, as physically talented as he is, is still plenty raw. He’s a late bloomer. He’s not necessarily as good as you’d want in pass protection for such a big guy, and he had a huge drop rate in 2024. But in the fourth round, I think that’s great value. You’re looking at someone incredibly physically gifted, someone who’s 6-foot, close to 230 pounds, who can run as fast as he can. He had a breakaway run percentage of 48.3 last year. That’s a big-play guy waiting to happen.”
The testing was real, but so was the tape behind it. Washington clocked a 4.33 at the combine, the fastest among running backs, at 223 pounds, with a 39-inch vertical and a 9.90 Relative Athletic Score.
The production matched at Arkansas, where he ran for 1,070 yards and 6.4 yards per carry, second in the SEC, with nearly half of his rushing yards coming on breakaway runs of 15 or more yards. The fourth round also prices in the rawness Infante flagged. Washington is a late bloomer who bounced from Buffalo to New Mexico State to Arkansas, and his pass protection and hands still need work.
How Mike Washington Jr. Fits Behind Ashton Jeanty
Cummings focused on the opening in front of him. “I think they struck while the value was perfect,” Cummings said.
“This is a guy who was 65th on the consensus board going into round four. That’s incredible value for a team that really needed a back to spell Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty is expected to get the main volume of the carries, but behind him you have Dylan Laube, who I liked as a prospect but who wasn’t productive in his first year, and then UDFA Roman Hemby. I think Mike Washington is the favorite to get that second-tier role. And in that role, 6-1, [223], 4.33 speed, elite north-south ability, physicality, receiving versatility, an 88.6 PFSN RB impact in 2025, I think he can really thrive in that change-of-pace role.”
The fit is the best part of the pick. Ashton Jeanty, the No. 6 overall selection in 2025, is the unquestioned starter, but he already ranked in the top 10 in carries and snaps as a rookie, and coach Klint Kubiak has said he wants a quality second back to keep Jeanty fresh. Behind Jeanty sat Dylan Laube and Chris Collier, special-teams-first options, plus undrafted rookie Roman Hemby.
Washington is the favorite to win that No. 2 job, the thunder to Jeanty’s lightning. Cummings’ 88.6 figure is a PFSN metric, so treat it as the show’s internal grade, but the role is there to win.
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The question answers itself. A 4.33 back who averaged 6.4 a carry in the SEC, landing at No. 122 in the one backfield actively shopping for a speed complement, is value by every measure that counts. Host Cam Mellor gave the round to Infante 3-2. The rawness is real, but at a fourth-round price, this is the kind of bet that wins more than it loses.
