Things couldn't have gone much worse for Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty as a rookie last season. Yet, somehow, the 2025 No. 6 overall pick still topped 1,300 scrimmage yards and found his way into the end zone 10 times, five on the ground and another five through the air.
The arrival of Klint Kubiak as the head coach and play-caller in Las Vegas was automatically great news for Jeanty. Improvements to the offensive line, in both talent and coaching, will also be greatly beneficial to him as he attempts to have a breakout second season.
Jeanty had a solid 55 receptions on 73 targets last season, but it's safe to say that his role in the passing game left a lot to be desired. Creativity sits at the root of that, as he totaled just 32 snaps lined up in the slot or out wide, according to Pro Football Focus.
That was expected to change under Kubiak, and based on reports, it already is.
Latest insight from Raiders' camp confirms the Year 2 plan for Ashton Jeanty
As for what that could look like, Kubiak invoked a name from his coaching history when talking about Jeanty earlier this offseason.
"We want to put a lot of pressure on Ashton," Kubiak said. "The next guy that steps up, whoever that may be. That's going to be seen here in practice, OTAs, and training camp. But we think we should continue to challenge Ashton and get more out of him. ... I said that before: I think it's important to have a quality second back. But the best players got to play, and we got to get them on the field as much as we can. I don't know the play snap percentage, but you look at Christian McCaffrey, his play snap percentage is high. So, those great backs, they don't want to come off the field."
In 2023, when Kubiak was the San Francisco 49ers' passing game coordinator in 2023, McCaffrey's catch and receiving yardage production were not the level they typically are in a season where he's fully healthy season, as he notched just 67 catches for 564 yards.
However, he did have a tied for career-best seven receiving touchdowns in that season. McCaffrey is a uniquely-gifted pass catcher at the running back position, but Jeanty, the former high school slot receiver, has proven to be quite good himself, and Kubiak is smart enough to tap into that.
There have been indications from reporters on the ground at Raiders camp hinting that Jeanty's passing game role is becoming even more robust this season. For example, ESPN's Dan Grazianorecently paid a visit to Las Vegas.
He expressed some tongue-in-cheek regret that he wasn't there on the day of the little scrap between Kirk Cousins and Maxx Crosby, but he passed along a fantasy football-focused nugget that further confirms what has been hiding in plain sight about Jeanty.
"Running back Ashton Jeanty, last year's No. 6 pick, caught 55 passes for 346 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. Multiple people told me the team expects him to be a bigger part of the passing game this season," Graziano wrote. "They just don't feel as if they did a good enough job of getting him out in space. ... The team believes he's capable of much more."
Of course, the struggle to get Jeanty out in space and generally get more out of him was an issue left behind by the previous coaching staff. Last season, Pete Carroll kept a thumb on what Chip Kelly could do as a play caller before firing him, and his son led the NFL's worst offensive line.
Kubiak should have no such issues fully unleashing Jeanty, with only the limits of his creativity (minimal as they surely are) to get in the way. What that will look like as far as Jeanty's role as a pass catcher is hard to say, but we should not try to limit the possibilities with specific number predictions.
Add us as a preferred source on Google