ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Is it too ambitious to suggest the Oakland Raiders drafted the heir apparent to Marshawn Lynch in North Carolina’s Elijah Hood?
On one hand, Lynch has yet to take a snap after sitting out last season in retirement, and Hood, well, he is a seventh-round draft pick ... and there is a reason he lasted until the seventh round, right?
“Marshawn Lynch, growing up watching him play, honestly, as a runner, that’s one of the running backs I tried to model my game after the most; I mean, Beast Mode,” Hood said through tears of joy on a conference call with Bay Area reporters last weekend.
“I just can’t wait to be in that running back room with him. He has so much to offer. He’s a veteran. The way he conducts business, he’s a professional.
“I have so many questions I need to ask him and learn from him about the game and NFL and what it takes to be successful. It’s just so much to take in. I’m about to be in a room with this guy. He’s literally the man who I wanted to become as a running back.”
Those meeting rooms will have to wait, but Hood will get his first look at himself as a Raiders running back Friday as the team’s rookie minicamp begins at its facility.
No, Lynch is not eligible to work out with the younglings -- at least, not during this camp. Besides, Hood has to start making good on why the Raiders selected him.
It was the first time the Raiders drafted a Tar Heel since Ronald Curry in 2002, the first time the Raiders used a seventh-round pick on a running back since Derek Combs was taken out of Ohio State in 2001, and he was converted into a defensive back.
The 6-foot, 220-pound Hood is not about to change positions though. Not after he was taken, in part, because his violent running style resembles that of Lynch. And not with the Raiders, after letting Latavius Murray leave in free agency for the Minnesota Vikings, needing a power running back. Or two.
In fact, the Raiders are hoping they got a seventh-round steal in Hood, who looked like a top prospect as a sophomore in 2015, when he rushed for 1,463 yards -- the second-highest total in UNC history, behind Don McCauley’s 1,720 yards in 1970 -- and 17 touchdowns while averaging 6.7 yards per carry in 14 games. His 4.1 yards after contact led all FBS backs, according to the Chicago Tribune.
But injury cost him two games last fall, and with the ascent of quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who was drafted No. 2 overall by the Chicago Bears, and sharing time with T.J. Logan, Hood’s production dipped.
Hood rushed for 858 yards last season with eight TDs and averaged 5.9 yards in 11 games.
“He did have a couple injuries, but not to the point that we see a big drop-off,” Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie said. “Their offense has gotten better with the quarterback and the way they’re throwing the ball around a little bit, and we think that played a little part in it.
“We like him. He’s a big, physical running back and that’s what he liked about him.”
Another reason the Raiders may have liked Hood? He is an Eagle Scout who keeps his card in his wallet. He also served an internship with the North Carolina general assembly last summer.
Hood was the only member of his team who majored in information and library sciences, and he carried a 3.8 GPA.
“I have nothing but work ahead of me, and I can’t wait to do it,” Hood said. “I just want to get through it because I can’t wait to be out there in Oakland and Las Vegas. I’m just trying to do what I can to help this team out.
“I’m silver and black all the way through now, just like that. I don’t have anything else but God and blessings on me. It’s just work. I can’t wait.”