Zamir ‘Zeus’ White could be set for a breakout year for the Raiders. The former Georgia Bulldog put on six pounds of muscle over the offseason, in an attempt to mitigate the wear and tear of being a potential bell-cow back for the Silver and Black.
Star edge rusher Maxx Crosby even made a point to note Zamir’s size, when saying this about White “The dude is massive, he’s 225, 230 pounds. A big, physical back that played in the SEC. He can do it at a high level. It really just comes down to opportunity, and a guy like him, he’s been consistent.”
Who is Zamir White?
Life has been trying to keep Zamir down since the beginning.
Before his birth, doctors discovered that he weighed only a single pound six months into his mothers pregnancy. This led doctors to question whether it was feasible for his mother to continue with the pregnancy.
However, White survived this setback. Yet when he was born, he was diagnosed with a cleft lip, a cleft palate, and was given two weeks to live. After spending the first three months of his life in a hospital, White was given another hurdle to pass. After his kidney developed a leak, with surgery being needed for a hernia. Luckily, he made it through all these trials and tribulations and is still with us today.
White did not have the easiest time in starting his football career, either. He dealt with two ACL injuries to separate knees, causing a setback in his early playing career. These injuries of course massively hindered Zamir all throughout college; he was once viewed as a consensus top-five prospect in his high school class, despite tearing his ACL in his state playoff run.
However, things would ultimately end on a high note. White and the Bulldogs would win the National Championship the year before he left for the draft.
Zamir White gets his opportunity to shine
White is potentially heading into his first season on top of the depth chart, with former lead back Josh Jacobs taking his talents to Green Bay.
Jacobs was the bell cow running back for all five years he was a Raider. That meant that for his first two years in the NFL, opportunities have been hard to come by for White. However, a late-season injury to Jacobs in 2023 opened up opportunities for White. Over the last four games of that season, White had an opportunity to shine, and he took it.
Over this spell, ‘Zeus’ recorded 397 rushing yards, including hitting 145 on Christmas Day against the Kansas City Chiefs. This breakout was imperative for White, who had struggled to make a name for himself while Jacobs was shining as RB1. It is likely that White’s eye-opening end to the season was a reason general manager Tom Telesco felt comfortable allowing Jacobs to walk at the end of his deal.
Competition in the backfield
White will have some competition entering the 2024 season. Rookie Dylan Laube has impressed in Raiders training camp. Meanwhile, the team also signed Alexander Mattison to compete for touches this year. However, this competition could prove to be a good thing for the young rusher.
Pressure could end up pushing Zamir to another level in 2024. And as expected, White officially stamped his place atop of the Raiders depth chart prior to the start of the preseason. With head coach Antonio Pierce stating that most of the Raiders players will get snaps over preseason, it will be interesting to see how Zamir gets on.
A new system to learn
With offensive coordinator Luke Getsy coming in from Chicago, White will have to learn a new playbook over this offseason. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to Getsy’s outside zone scheme.
Outside zone forces defenses to run horizontally. This puts more responsibility on the running back to make the blocking scheme effective. Even if the offensive line loses ground, top rushers run off those blocks and force positive plays.
If White is able to do that this season, he will be on the fast track to superstardom in Las Vegas.
