A year ago at this time, it was easy to be very optimistic about what Ashton Jeanty would do as a rookie. But being a focal point of the Las Vegas Raiders' offense was not all it was cracked up to be. The fact that he topped 1,300 scrimmage yards and 10 total touchdowns feels like a Herculean feat.
The arrival of head coach Klint Kubiak and Rick Dennison as an offensive line coach who knows what he's doing brings credible high hopes for Jeanty in his second season. In fantasy football terms, however, it might be easy to see rookie Mike Washington Jr. as a threat to Jeanty's workload.
But a better overall offense in 2026 will yield more opportunities for everyone. Despite a rough rookie campaign, Jeanty is still lined up to be a top fantasy football running back this year and fully justify his high average draft position this time around.
Ashton Jeanty's place in dynasty RB ranking affirms trajectory he's on
With the NFL Draft in the books, SI.com fantasy football analyst Michael Fabiano has done a fresh running back ranking for dynasty league formats. Of course, a player's age is a significant factor in determining value in that format, and it becomes an even bigger factor with running backs since the shelf life at the position is commonly so short.
The top two dynasty running backs this year, in whatever order someone prefers, are clearly Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs. Fabiano has them in that order: Robinson followed by Gibbs. For many people, Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Jeremiyah Love would be No. 3, by default.
Not Fabiano. He has Jeanty at No. 3, with Love at No. 4.
While it would be nice to read some extended analysis from Fabiano to explain why he has Jeanty as his No. 3 dynasty running back, we don't really need it in the context of what's framed as purely a ranked list.
Fans know what Jeanty did last season in a Raiders' offense that was hardly functional, and behind an offensive line that left him on his own to find running room far too much. Jeanty won't turn 23 until December, and Love is the only back younger than him among the top-10 backs in Fabiano's ranking.
If not for the otherworldly talents Robinson and Gibbs are, there'd be a strong case for Jeanty as the No. 1 running back in a dynasty fantasy context this year. Down the road, there's a chance he will gain that status. But his trajectory is still vertical at this point,
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