As the Las Vegas Raiders navigate their current season, questions arise regarding the usage of rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty had a spectacular career at Boise State, consistently carrying the ball 26.7 times a game. His opportunity in the pros has been up and down. This gap has generated passionate debate within the fanbase and analytical community. They want to know why the Raiders’ running game has had trouble getting on track.
During that first week of the season, Jeanty saw a crowded 54 snap workload. This extreme challenge was an indication that the coaching staff had early faith in his talent. When that usage fell all the way down to 39 snaps in Week 2, concerns began to surface over his role in this offense. When Jeanty sat down during a recent game, he encountered a truly confounding conundrum. He didn’t even get to touch the ball until the 11th play, and his first rushing attempt led to a frustrating loss of 5 yards.
Jeanty said he was looking forward to more opportunities like that in future games. “I don’t think you draft a guy like me to not give me carries and touches,” he stated, emphasizing his desire to contribute more significantly to the team’s offensive strategy. He likes to get himself about 20 carries a game which is right in his wheelhouse, similar to his college days.
Despite being a standout player in college football, Jeanty’s current statistics reflect a struggle to find rhythm. He still leads all rookie running backs in carries, too. The fact that he ranks second in yards indicates that while he’s getting a ton of touches, they just haven’t demanded a lot of yardage. He has yet to break off a run longer than 10 yards this season. This would obviously indicate he’s got to do better on his explosive plays.
As head coach Josh McDaniels said, they were being careful with Jeanty’s workload. He went on to say that the score of the game usually determines how often they use players like that. “When you look at the run-pass breakdowns by game, it’s really what is the situation that presents itself,” said McDaniels. The further into the season we get, the more pronounced this strategy is. The coaching staff is intent on preserving players’ bodies as best they can over the brutal 17-game gauntlet.
McDaniels subsequently elaborated on the team’s overarching philosophy of how to deploy players. He zeroed in even more on players in high-impact positions such as running backs. “We’re not sitting out games here, but I think you have to be conscious of it over the course of 17 games,” he remarked. This reasoning illustrates an overall plan to avoid injury and keep players relevant all season long.
Jeanty hasn’t necessarily fulfilled those lofty expectations from his collegiate days. Still, he keeps an encouraging spirit and commitment to doing his part. He acknowledged, “I think it’s really rare that a guy comes in and is just flat out balling off the rip. So I’m not feeling any type of way towards it.” He knows what that jump is like from college football to the pro level. Yet his commitment to continued development is fierce.
On Jeanty McDaniels is optimistic about what Jeanty could become. He’s asking him to play eight to nine more snaps per game on average, likely creating more opportunities for more disruptive plays. The Raiders are taking a new approach to jumpstart their ground attack. All eyes are on how Jeanty’s role will change under this new approach.
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