A lot of players thrive in their first NFL season when they have natural talent and opposing teams don't have a lot of tape on them. Those players often regress in Year 2 in what is commonly referred to as a "sophomore slump." The opposite should be true for the Las Vegas Raiders' Ashton Jeanty.
Jeanty was made the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft in hopes that he would revitalize the Raiders' rushing attack. But bad coaching from the offensive line coach and run game coordinator thwarted his efforts, as the rookie was hung out to dry on nearly every touch this past season.
His pure stats may not jump off the page or indicate that Jeanty had a tremendous year. But when one considers what he was up against and how often he made something out of nothing, it is obvious that Jeanty will be special. And hiring Klint Kubiak should supercharge his sophomore campaign.
But the NFL isn't going to be ready when Jeanty ascends into Offensive Player of the Year conversations in 2026.
Klint Kubiak should put Ashton Jeanty into OPOY conversations in Year 2
First, it should be noted just how incredible Jeanty was on the rare occasions that his offensive line blocked well for him. When his offensive line gave him at least one yard to run before contact, according to Fantasy Data Points, Jeanty ranked near the top of the league in every metric.
He averaged 6.78 yards per rush, which barely trailed Bijan Robinson's 6.80. Jeanty tied with Robinson for a 71% success rate and 25% missed tackles forced on such rushes as well. Jeanty's league-best 3.4 yards after contact per rush also blew Robinson's 2.8 out of the water.
Kubiak clearly understands how special Jeanty is, as he spoke about him several times during his introductory press conference. But Kubiak really excited the fanbase when he started talking about how the team can cultivate a sustainable atmosphere for him to have success in.
"Where you at, Ashton? What's up, dude? How's it going, man? Very excited. Very excited about his skill set and what he brings. I got a lot of tape to catch up on, dude. But I saw you play a lot of snaps at Boise. Very excited about his talent," Kubiak said. "But the thing I would tell him and all his teammates is that it's not just about one guy. We got to get the line on the same page. We got to get our quarterback to get the right run checks. We got to get our receivers to go block for them so that we can get the play action going. But as soon as our players can realize that it's a team thing, it's not an individual thing, we're going to be successful. I know we have those type of guys in our building right now."
Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III just won Super Bowl MVP honors in Kubiak's offense, but he didn't do it alone. Yes, Walker III is talented, and his game is similar to Jeanty's in terms of their burst, vision and patience. But the Seahawks' offensive line, and entire offense, was great.
When asked later on if he intended to make Jeanty a centerpiece of the offense in Las Vegas, Kubiak said that he did.
"Yeah, absolutely. That would be easy to assume, no matter what team he's on. He's a special talent. So I look forward to working with him," Kubiak said.
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Raider Nation Radio's Q Myers caught up with Kubiak later on and asked specifically about the zone blocking scheme and outside zone rushing concepts that Kubiak employs. Myers first asked about what makes the scheme so effective for running backs if they can execute it.
"I think it's just repetition. You give them some parameters early, and then you just start repping things over and over and over again, from April all the way to February. You change formations, you might change how many backs are in the backfield. Really, the basic teaching of it is pretty elementary, and it's repeatable. So, when guys can build on cumulative reps and build muscle memory, they can get better as the season goes on, and that's what you saw with [Kenneth Walker III]."
No fluff. No secrets. Just work and repetition. If Kubiak can spend the coming months drilling these concepts into the Raiders' offense, things could flip in an instant. But running backs can't do it alone. Myers also asked about what makes offensive linemen successful in this scheme.
"You gotta be athletic, obviously. But you can't be so light that you can't pass pro. Really, the most important thing is getting a really bright center that can ID fronts and get everybody on the same page. It all starts with him."
Myers then asked about Jeanty's specific fit in the system. Kubiak, once again, simply believes that Jeanty's success will come down to putting in the work. This is becoming an on-brand answer for Las Vegas' new head coach.
"Supremely talented guy that seems like he has a great attitude and a great head on his shoulders. There's so many talented guys in the NFL, but the ones that play great football are really intelligent, and they work hard. That's what I hear about him, and I'll get to know him better as the months go on."
Look, it is hard to win the Offensive Player of the Year award. But Jaxon Smith-Njigba just achieved it in Kubiak's offense, and Walker III won Super Bowl MVP. Sam Darnold won a Super Bowl under Kubiak. The guy is a bit of a wizard and gets the most out of his players.
Derek Carr thinks Jeanty will run for 1,800 yards in Kubiak's offense. Obviously, this Raiders team needs to set him up for success, but if Jeanty did accomplish that yardage total, then he would have a serious case for the award. And the team isn't as far away from supporting him as most think.