The Las Vegas Raiders have fielded the NFL‘s worst rushing attack through three games. Neither holdover running back Zamir White nor offseason addition Alexander Mattison has been able to get anything going behind Las Vegas’ below-average offensive line.
Will that change when the Raiders face the Cleveland Browns in Week 4? If you have to pick between White and Mattison in fantasy football on Sunday, here’s what you should do.
Should You Start Zamir White or Alexander Mattison in Week 4?
White’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
There’s no sugarcoating it — the Raiders simply cannot run the ball this season.
Las Vegas has rushed for just 153 yards through three games, tied for the eighth-lowest total for any team through Week 3 in the past decade, per TruMedia. Their 20% success rate is the third-worst during that span. Only the 2018 Buffalo Bills (18.7%) and 2017 New York Giants (19.1%) had more trouble creating early-season yards on the ground.
The Raiders’ offensive line ranks 32nd in run-block win rate. Right guard Dylan Parham is the only member of L.V.’s front who ranks as a top-30 run-blocker at his position in PFF’s grading.
Thayer Munford (who won’t play this week) is dead last among right tackles in run-blocking grade. Cody Whitehair is last among left guards. Andre James is the third-worst center.
Of course, White hasn’t created much yardage for himself, either. He ranks 27th among 32 qualified running backs with 2.22 yards after contact per attempt. Next Gen Stats‘ modeling suggests White is averaging 0.77 fewer yards per carry than a league-average RB would while facing the same situations.
Just one of White’s 32 carries has gone for over 12 yards. His 3.1% explosive run rate is 27th among running backs. That’s despite White facing stacked boxes (eight-plus defenders) on just 21.9% of his attempts, the NFL’s third-lowest rate and 15 points below league average.
Even more concerning is White’s snap rate trend. He’s gone from 39% in Week 1 to 65% in Week 2 before falling back to just 24% in Week 3. White is playing just one in five of the Raiders’ red-zone snaps, significantly reducing the chance he’ll fall in for a touchdown.
You might not want to start either Raiders running back in Week 4. But if you’re forced to choose one, it probably shouldn’t be White.
Mattison’s Fantasy Outlook This Week
Mattison isn’t anyone’s idea of a world-beater, but he’s the better Raiders running back for Week 4.
While White’s snap counts are trending in the wrong direction, Mattison has seen more time on the field recently. He played 60% of Las Vegas’ snaps in Week 1, 22% in Week 2, and 44% in Week 3.
Mattison has earned three red-zone carries to White’s one and owns both of the Raiders’ attempts inside the five-yard line. Las Vegas seems to trust Mattison when they get closer to the goal line, so he offers a better chance at a touchdown opportunity than White.
Mattison is also a better receiver than White, who caught just 17 passes over three seasons at Georgia. The Raiders won’t have star WR Davante Adams (hamstring) on Sunday, so Mattison could become a more prominent factor in the receiving game.
Moreover, the 2.5-point home-underdog Raiders are likely to be trailing and could be forced to pass at a higher clip than usual in Week 4. Mattison is playing half of Las Vegas’ snaps on second or third downs with 6+ yards to go; White is at 37.7%.
Neither Raiders option has a realistic path to top-12 production on Sunday, even against a Browns defense that’s regressed since their dominant 2023 performance. But Mattison should be the preferred pick in Las Vegas based on his ability to catch passes and potentially score a TD.