The Las Vegas Raiders fielded the NFL's worst rushing attack in 2024, finishing last in rushing yards per carry and rushing yards per game. It came as no surprise that the incoming brass of Pete Carroll and John Spytek immediately looked to fix that problem by drafting Ashton Jeanty.
He has not gotten off to a strong start in his rookie season as Las Vegas has posted the third-fewest rushing yards per carry and rushing yards per game. Jeanty's lack of production, however, has largely been attributed to the struggles of the offensive line.
Las Vegas' star rookie has also appeared in just over two-thirds of the offensive snaps, which is much lower than many expected when he was drafted sixth overall. To be precise, Jeanty has played just 66.8% of the Raiders' offensive snaps this season, just the 11th-most of any player on the roster.
Ashton Jeanty weighs in on the Raiders plan to manage his snaps
Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly told reporters last week that he has been trying to manage Jeanty's load early in his NFL career, much like NBA load management. So, this has been a part of the coaching staff's plan all along. Jeanty addressed this while speaking with the media on Wednesday.
"Play free, have confidence in yourself and then, so you can stay on the field, make sure you take care of your body," Jeanty said. "Whatever the coaches, the guys leading us think is best for us and the team, I'm all for it. It doesn't matter. So, I'm willing to do whatever it takes for the team to win. It feels good, I would say, to be fresh coming into the fourth quarter, definitely."
This is the perfect response from Jeanty, who is already showing immense maturity early in his career. Just last week, he told reporters that he was ready for a larger workload, but it is critical that he maintains a team-first mindset and says all the right things.
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Jeanty has struggled to the tune of just 3.1 yards per carry and 48.0 rushing yards per game so far in his inaugural NFL campaign, as he has 144 yards and one touchdown on 47 carries through his first three games.
A major part of his lack of production, however, has been the offensive line's inability to create running lanes for him. This is evidenced by the fact that he has more rushing yards after contact than overall yards, and has been hit at or behind the line of scrimmage on a majority of his carries.
While the Raiders have done a great job at keeping their lead back fresh, they will need the offensive line to step up in a major way in order for the offense to maximize its potential. If the unit is unable to improve its play, Jeanty's production will continue to suffer, regardless of how rested he is.