Reece's conversion to fullback key for Raiders

Raiders fullback Marcel Reece tends to brush off individual achievements with a wave of his hand.

When the subject turns to his backfield partner, Darren McFadden, Reece puffs his chest out like a proud parent.

It’s difficult to imagine where the Raiders would be without either player.

While McFadden has run his way into the team’s record books with what is already the sixth-best season by a Raiders running back, Reece has also been important to Oakland’s resurgence.

In addition to being McFadden’s lead blocker, Reece is also the Raiders’ fourth-leading receiver and is tied for the second-most touchdown catches on the team.

Not bad for a player who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent wide receiver in 2008 and earned his spot on Oakland’s 53-man roster this year after having to beat out two other prospects in training camp.

“It’s been fun for me, to say the least,” Reece said. “I came here as a receiver, woke up and I was a fullback. Three years later it’s just about embracing it. It’s an understatement to say I’m more comfortable. I just feel like I’m coming into my own.”

Much of the attention surrounding Oakland’s success this season has centered on McFadden. He’s the second player in franchise history to have at least 1,100 yards rushing and 475 yards in receptions in the same season. Marcus Allen did it twice, in 1984 and ’85.

Though he’s missed two games with a hamstring injury, McFadden is on pace to finish with the second-most prolific season by a Raiders running back.

Reece, who has helped McFadden gain many of those yards, beams when he thinks about it.

See more at www.pressdemocrat.com

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