Fan favorite UDFA didn't have the best start to his NFL career as the Raiders would have hoped for

The Las Vegas Raiders were able to snag one of the bigger undrafted free agents available after the 2024 NFL Draft this year. After a bad year on offense in 2023, the Raiders made it a conscious effort to go and grab players on that side of the ball that make them better. And, they did that through the draft with Brock Bowers, and through the undrafted free-agent market.

Dylan Laube, a running back out of New Hampshire, was the one UDFA that fans just stuck to the most. Everyone hyped him up during training camp, saying he looked natural, and that he could be a guy that plays on more than one phase for the Raiders. And, who doesn't love an underdog story?

So, he stuck well with the fan base, and even the media was enamored by him.

"That dude is special. I like him… And he's gritty. He's a gritty RB," Antonio Pierce said on Laube during training camp this offseason.

Coming into this first preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings, the hype for Laube was real. We knew that the starters would play in the first quarter, and some would in the second quarter , but the whole second half would be the third and fourth stringers, or guys trying to make the roster. And, Laube is trying to make the roster.

To do that, he will have to beat out Brittain Brown and maybe even Ameer Abdullah. Unfortunately for him, his first preseason game, and first-ever preseason action, didn't go the way that maybe he and the Raiders hoped.

Laube had four carries for eight yards, which really isn't great. That's two yards per carry. He didn't catch any balls either, so on offense, he was almost not even present. I will give him some props though for getting a special teams tackle.

But, let's be honest, this is not the offensive showing we all hoped to see. That's not saying he can't have a great game next week, though.

Related: Raiders' Dylan Laube is willing to do what a lot of players don't want to if it means making the team