NFL Preseason 2018: Winners and losers from Week 3

ARLINGTON, TX - AUGUST 26: Mike White #3 of the Dallas Cowboys fumbles the ball after being sacked by Vontarrius Dora #59 of the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth quarter of a preseason football game at AT&T Stadium on August 26, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Winner: Raiders running back situation (and Chris Warren III)

When the Oakland Raiders signed veteran running back Doug Martin this offseason, the thought was pretty simple: he’d be the backup to Marshawn Lynch and likely see a fair number of carries given the mileage on Beast Mode at this point in his career. However, given Martin’s inconsistency and injury issues over the years he spent in Tampa Bay, the combo of Lynch and Martin in itself has not really been inspiring of confidence for fans.

The general feeling about the Raiders running back situation, however, has to be much more positive than it was before. Obviously the primary reason that’s the case is because of the emergence of undrafted free agent rookie Chris Warren III.

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Warren has been the leading rusher in the NFL throughout the preseason and, when given more opportunities to prove himself in Week 3 of the preseason, he continued to showcase what he’s able to do. The former Texas Longhorn put forth another great effort this week as he took 15 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown on the night. While those numbers are solid, they actually pale in comparison to what he’s done previously in preseason action.

With how Warren has performed to this point of his young career, the running back room in Oakland is in a great spot. Not only do they have two veterans with Lynch and Martin that have proven the ability to be effective runners in this league on more than one occasion, but now they have a hungry and dangerous weapon in Warren pushing the vets as well.

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