An actual lead-blocking fullback charging ahead of the running back. That was absent the last two season for the Las Vegas Raiders and the glaring omission of a “true” fullback on the roster ended a 40-year run of consistently deploying one.
Klint Kubiak course corrected with the quickness.
An old-school truther of the vitality of a dying breed, the Raiders head coach wasn’t playing any games on his desire to have a fullback on his roster. As free agency began this past March, the Silver & Black pounced on a player Kubiak deemed fit for the position by signing Connor Heyward, a versatile tight end by trade the Pittsburg Steelers wanted to keep. (This also explains the quote I used above for true fullback.)
“Running the ball is important, we think that’s a huge part of winning football games,” Kubiak said when asked about the importance of the fullback in his offense. “Running the ball, stopping the run on defense. Just in our scheme, it’s a very versatile player. Guy that plays tight end, plays fullback, that can pass pro, that has to be a four-core special teams player, he’s got to be one of the smartest players on your team. So, we’re going to keep getting Connor and get him better. And (Patrick) Gurd’s coming along.”
Lofty expectations from the Raiders head honcho, but if there’s someone who can do what Kubiak wants, it’s Heyward who was listed as a tight end but who blocked, ran the ball, ran patterns and caught the rock, and was special teams mainstay during his four years in the Steel City.
It’s easy to see why Kubiak wanted Heyward as the Michigan State product not only has the build to withstand the rigors of versatility — 6-feet and 230 pounds — but he has the mentality and willingness to do what needs to be done.
“Just being selfless and being one of 11. You might get the ball here and there, but that’s not what it’s about,” Heyward began when explaining the mentality it takes to play fullback in the NFL. “It’s about opening up lanes and getting the run game going and having the run game area with the pass game and just honestly doing the dirty work on special teams as well. So, it’s a full day’s work and it’s never going to stop.”
View LinkIn the Raiders first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, we got a window into how Kubiak is slated to use the fullback in his offense.
Heyward was often plugged in the backfield with either starting running back Ashton Jeanty and/or rookie Mike Washington Jr. providing a pathfinder for the tailbacks. The 27-year-old also initially lined up as a tight end before formation shift/motion saw No. 34 move back to a traditional lead blocking fullback role and plunge towards the defense at the snap looking to block linebackers and defensive backs who entered the fray.
In Las Vegas’ second preseason game — against the Houston Texans on Thursday night — Heyward was in his usual spot as the fullback providing a lead-blocking presence in the backfield and even lined up at tight end for a catch.
What a sight to see in Kubiak’s offense.
“Yeah, you can throw the ball, run the ball, stretch the defense horizontally and vertically. But that’s Coach (Kubiak’s) and his scheme. It’s just not myself,” Heyward said regarding how unpredictable an offense can be with a versatile fullback on the roster. “It’s just a scheme and buying in honestly. You guys saw that on the first drive and you guys saw that glimpsed throughout the game. But we just got to ultimately put it together, and it’s not the finished product right now, and we don’t want it to be. We just want to continue to get better, and this camp is about growth, and the season is about growth.”
The All-11 approach showed up in a big way on Washington’s breakaway 53-yard run against the Cardinals in the preseason opener. Second-string left tackle Charles Grant started the play off absolutely pancaking a defender to open the gap and Heyward charged forward into it, helped seal a defender that allowed the rookie tailback to use his speed and agility to make a break for it.
Raiders FB Connor Heyward breaks down the blocking and vision on rookie RB Mike Washington Jr.’s 53-yard run vs. the Cardinals:
“I know Chuck [Charles Grant] had a really good block, and I just played off Chuck’s block. Mike Washington Jr. did what he did, and he had 50+ yards… pic.twitter.com/A5Woq3xuPc
While we’re far from seeing the full gamut of Kubiak’s offensive playbook, the glimpses we’ve seen provide encouraging signs of what’s to come.
The football watching world knows the Raiders head coach and play caller loves the wide zone running scheme and the Silver & Black are most assuredly going to run that aplenty. But during his time dialing up plays for the Super Bowl-winning Seattle Seahawks last season, Kubiak mixed in more power into the zone schematics he’s long preferred. That helped put players on the Seahawks roster in the best possible position to succeed and with Kubiak bringing over assistant coaches from Seattle with him to the Las Vegas — such as offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko and offensive line coach Rick Dennison — he’s brought plenty of experience and sounding boards with him to the desert.
We’ve seen instances where the Kubiak has called for zone and power, creating a mix of finesse and smashmouth football in both practices and preseason tilts. And that’s going that mix is going to be important when the Raiders get to games that count on the win-loss record.
“Yeah, we’ve obviously got to stay balanced. There’s a lot of great defenses out there, so you can’t just go out there and just run counter and power run the whole game,” Heyward said. “But we’re a wide zone team, and when you put stress on the corners and make them tackle like that. We have very capable backs, and it’s really just about putting our backs on the corners and safeties and even linebackers, whether that’s just running routes out the backfield because they’re just so versatile. So, we can mix and match so many guys on our offense, so it’ll be interesting to see.”
Mike Washington Jr. has a rare combination of size and speed 👀 pic.twitter.com/cFccsypbN7
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) August 21, 2026Lauded for creativity concocting an offense, the always pragmatic Kubiak provided one of his patented responses when asked for the origins of his ingenuity.
“I think I’d rather be known for being fundamentally sound,” Kubiak said. “That’s things that we stress offensively, and as you put more and more film on tape, you get more and more predictable. So, you’ve got to keep finding ways to evolve. But as a coach, I’d rather be much more about the basics and being great at the fundamentals so that’s what we’re going to harp on.”
The basic of being able to effectively run the football has been elusive for the Raiders. But perhaps with Kubiak as play caller, Dennison coaching up the offensive line, and Heyward as the fullback, the Silver & Black Express can once again, get rolling.
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