The Las Vegas Raiders made a potentially franchise-altering move in the 2025 NFL Draft when they chose Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round.
While his college career was certainly impressive on paper, perhaps more telling has been the NFL player comparisons made by analysts and experts.
Some have compared him to legendary players like Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson, while others have settled for other great running backs like Josh Jacobs, Maurice Jones-Drew and Steven Jackson.
Raiders' All-Pro wastes no time making big sacrifice for Ashton Jeanty
Jeanty was nicknamed "Deuce" in college because he wore the No. 2 on the back of his jersey at Boise State. Unfortunately, Raiders All-Pro kicker Daniel Carlson already held that number upon Jeanty's being drafted, so one of them had to make a sacrifice.
The Raiders officially announced the uniform numbers for the rookie class on Friday, and to many people's surprise, Jeanty was given the No. 2. This means that Carlson was the one to sacrifice, as he'll now don the No. 8 instead.
Carlson likely earned a nice check from Jeanty for the number, as is the typical protocol in the NFL. However, some players would simply not give up their number for any price, but Carlson is clearly not one of them.
Related: Raiders' Ashton Jeanty reveals the exact moment he knew he was going to Vegas
While at Auburn, Carlson wore No. 38, and he wore No. 7 in his brief stint with the Minnesota Vikings, so it seems like he has no real attachment to the No. 2. Jeanty seemingly does, which is why it was so important for him to wear it.
Deuce will now appropriately be No. 2 in the NFL, and he'll look to revitalize a Las Vegas rushing attack that finished dead last in the league last year in rushing yards per game.
If Jeanty can even be a fraction of the player for the Raiders that he was billed to be as a prospect, the Las Vegas running game will be wildly improved this season. It may be smarter to wait and see how he pans out in the league, but you can't blame Raider Nation for already investing in an Ashton Jeanty jersey with the No. 2 on the back.