As high as the fanbase’s hopes were for Ashton Jeanty as a rookie, the Las Vegas Raiders put the cart before the horse. Asking a young player to shoulder the load in a completely inept offense was both careless and detrimental, and the results proved that.
While labeling the No. 6 overall pick as an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate isn’t exactly far-fetched, and the betting odds even indicated he was a frontrunner, it all looks sort of ridiculous in hindsight. With Brennan Carroll and Chip Kelly in charge, Jeanty never had a chance.
But it is a new day in Las Vegas, and a more promising one for both the Raiders and Jeanty. Based on their offseason moves, the young running back is already considered a winner. But the hype around him has now reached its pinnacle after just being named an Offensive Player of the Year candidate.
Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty labeled as Offensive Player of the Year candidate
Funny enough, Jeanty actually still earned PFWA All-Rookie honors in 2025, despite an uphill climb. But with better leadership and a much stronger supporting cast, NFL.com's Matt Okada believes that Jeanty can ascend firmly into the conversation for the league's best offensive player.
"Over the last 40 years, six rookie running backs drafted in the top 10 scored double-digit touchdowns for a team with a losing record. Jeanty is the most recent, joining Trent Richardson, Saquon Barkley, Todd Gurley and Hall of Famers LaDainian Tomlinson and Barry Sanders. Jeanty succeeded despite subpar blocking and an abysmal offense. He was hit behind the line of scrimmage on more than half of his attempts (51.5 percent) and a whopping 88.5 percent of his rushing yards came after contact, per NFL Pro. This offseason, Vegas hired new head coach Klint Kubiak, upgraded the quarterback position -- signing Kirk Cousins in free agency and drafting Fernando Mendoza No. 1 overall -- and improved the O-line by adding Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum and guard Spencer Burford. In what figures to be a much-improved scheme and offense in general, Jeanty has legitimate Offensive Player of the Year upside in Year 2."
Honestly, with the way that Okada put it, it is hard to argue that Jeanty can still be light-years better than his 1,300-scrimmage-yard, 10-all-purpose-touchdown campaign that he put together in his inaugural season. If he did that much with so little, just imagine what he can do with more.
Jeanty is already in elite company with names like Barkley, Gurley, Tomlinson and Sanders. He battled a poor offensive line and a team that rarely led in games, so his rushing attempts were also limited in a lot of ways, as were any goal-line chances or easy scoring opportunities.
All of that should change, however, under Klint Kubiak and with Tyler Linderbaum up front. Not to mention, a better offensive line coach in Rick Dennison, a better defense to support them, a more stable quarterback situation and another year of experience under his belt.
The flashes were certainly there. Jeanty gashed one of the league's best defenses, the Houston Texans, and he had more than his share of Superman moments. But it shouldn't have to be that hard for Jeanty, and it won't be in 2026.
After anointing him as a rookie of the year candidate last year and putting all of these expectations on him, Raider Nation learned to rein things in a bit. But the hype around Jeanty is now reaching even higher levels, and it is hard not to get roped back in and get incredibly excited again.
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