Running back Ashton Jeanty was one of the first players to hear his name get called in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Las Vegas Raiders opted to use the No. 6 overall pick on him after he led the FBS in rushing yards (2,601) and paced his conference in rushing touchdowns (29) across 14 games with Boise State University in the 2024 campaign.
Jeanty has yet to play in so much as a preseason game at the highest level, never mind a regular-season game, and he’s not that long removed from getting drafted. But according to a report, he’s already turning heads with the Raiders organization.
“This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but I’ve consistently heard Ashton Jeanty has been turning heads in a major way since the moment he stepped on the field in Vegas,” NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on X. “The pre-draft buzz around his elite contact balance, explosiveness and natural feel as a runner wasn’t just hype.
“The #Raiders are already seeing it all come to life. Truly a special player.”
It’s not hard to connect the dots and figure out Las Vegas’ rationale for using a top-10 pick on Jeanty, as the team was sorely lacking dynamic rushers a season ago. The Raiders averaged the fewest rushing yards per game of any of the NFL’s 32 teams in the 2024 season by a wide margin with just 79.8. No player for the Raiders totaled more than 420 rushing yards on the season.
The acquisition of Jeanty massively improves the Raiders in that area of their offensive attack heading into the 2025 campaign, at least on paper. Fans can expect him to play a big role in the coming season, even as an inexperienced neophyte.
The Raiders have missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons now, and they will look to make their first playoff appearance since the 2021 campaign with Jeanty in the fold. Las Vegas is on the heels of one of its worst seasons in a long time, as the team won just four of its 17 games played in the 2024 campaign.
Hopefully, Jeanty will prove to be just what the doctor ordered for the Raiders to have a competent offense from a rushing standpoint, and he will help the team be more competitive in the 2025 campaign than it was in the 2024 season. He stands out as a real contender to win the Rookie of the Year award this coming season.
