Ashton Jeanty, the sixth overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, arrived in the league under a tidal wave of hype. He definitely earned those accolades through a fantastic college career at Boise State. An incredible performance in college vaulted the running back into the national spotlight. He tallied 2,601 rushing yards, the second-most in a single season’s history in FBS. Next, he joined the Las Vegas Raiders, who tapped into Jeanty’s potential to help lead their offense. Along the way, they developed him into a cornerstone of their running game, and even when they signed veteran Raheem Mostert to a one-year deal this past offseason,
Jeanty’s NFL transition early on has had its challenges. He’s been plagued by growing pains all season, failing to break the right number of tackles with contact balance or speed and shedding defenders at key junctures. So far this season, Jeanty has 200 carries for 700 yards, good for 3.5 yards per carry and 41.8 yards per game since Week 4. His on-the-field performance has been hit-or-miss. During this time, he didn’t have a single 10-plus yard carry, with a long of just 13 yards.
With all that said, Jeanty has had a strong impact as a receiver out of the backfield. He has 49 receptions for 266 yards and has four touchdowns. Raider nation should join their coaching staff in offense line concerns. It’s that last point that they feel is really impacting Jeanty’s ability to flourish.
“The line of scrimmage has not been controlled like we need to,” stated Pete Carroll, the Raiders’ head coach.
Carroll, too, said more movement and spacing will help give Jeanty a better shot in the backfield. “We got to get better movement, better spacing, and we got to make sure that we’re giving him a chance and get him going.” This recognition illuminates, if only briefly, the team’s larger woes. As such, they’ve made a concerted effort to improve their running game.
Greg Olson, the Raiders offensive coordinator, had some tough words on Jeanty’s struggles this year. He remarked, “Obviously, not a lot of space runs for him so far this season,” further illustrating the challenges faced by the rookie running back.
“It’s certainly a difficult evaluation for him and for any rookie,” Olson continued. “You go back and look at it. It’s a learning curve to begin with, but on top of that, there’s not a lot of success in what we’ve had rushing the football this year. To put that in the context of actually running the football, it’s been a rough go for him.
Even among these obstacles, Jeanty is bullish about his prospects in the league. “Everybody has their certain expectations or what they think is going to happen during the season, but it hasn’t gone our way, my way, in certain ways,” he acknowledged. “I just got to continue to keep working and make the most of the opportunities we have left.”
The Raiders are midway through their season. They’re just waiting for Jeanty to improve his fortunes and meet the promise that once made him a top draft choice. His team relies on him as their primary running back. If he surpasses those performances, it may be the key to their collective success.
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