Roman Hemby To Battle For Raiders' Backup Job

By Jared Smola | Updated on Mon, Apr 27 2026 1:53 AM UTC

The Raiders signed undrafted free agent RB Roman Hemby. Hemby broke out as a sophomore at Maryland, rushing 188 times for 989 yards and 10 TDs. He caught 33 passes that year, the first of three straight seasons with 30+ receptions. His receiving output dipped to 17 grabs for 165 yards at Indiana in 2025. But he paired with Kaelon Black to form one of the nation’s best backfield tandems. Hemby tallied career highs in carries (230) and rushing yards (1,120). Among the 20 RBs invited to the NFL Combine, Hemby ranked 16th in 2025 rushing market share (31.2%), and 11th in yards after contact per attempt (3.36). He ranked 18th in 2025 missed tackles forced per attempt (0.16) and ninth in receiving yards per route run (0.95). He is currently 23 years old.

What They're Saying

Draft Sharks Rookie Guide: “At 210 pounds, he runs with vision and urgency and offers usable pass-game skills. The concerns: limited elusiveness and heavy mileage. He’ll enter the league as a 24-year-old rookie with 840 career touches.”

Dynasty Impact

Hemby joins fourth-round rookie Mike Washington in Vegas’ backfield, behind workhorse Ashton Jeanty.

Size, speed, and, most importantly, draft capital make Washington the favorite to win the No. 2 job. But it’s worth noting that Hemby was more productive in college.

Career	Hemby	wASHINGTON
Rush Yards Per Game	59.8	57.1
Catches Per Game	2.2	1.4
Receiving Yards Per Game	18.7	9.2

Also working in Hemby’s favor is that the rest of the Raiders’ depth chart is made up of Dylan Laube and Chris Collier. That at least gives the UDFA a reasonable chance to make the roster.

Hemby is worth stashing on dynasty taxi squads.

Jared Smola, Lead Analyst

Jared has been with Draft Sharks since 2007. He’s now Lead Analyst, heading up the preseason and weekly projections that fuel your Draft War Room and in-season tools. He currently ranks ninth among 173 analysts in draft rankings accuracy.