Since topping 100 yards on the ground in Week 1, Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty has averaged a dismal 2.9 yards per carry. It's fair to assume he's not completely healthy, with a foot issue added to a late-preseason ankle injury, but the offensive line also continues to do him no favors.
In Week 8 against the New York Jets, Jeanty's role was dramatically reduced in favor of Mike Washington Jr. The fourth-round rookie had 25 carries to Jeanty's two in that game, but the rookie didn't get much done on the ground either (83 yards).
In Week 9 against the San Francisco 49ers, the Raiders' run game continued to get little done. The game script, in a contest they were always trailing, played a role in the team having only 15 rushing attempts, but the snaps in the backfield shifted back toward Jeanty, with 32 to Washington Jr.'s 17.
Jeanty also had 25 yards on his six carries in the game, which was a step in the right direction, while Washington had -3 yards on the same number of carries. A small sample size, yes, but the pecking order in the Las Vegas backfield was back to how it should be, and it should stay that way.
The area where Jeanty has made a big impact this season is in the passing game. He leads NFL running backs in receptions (42) and receiving yards (371) entering Week 10, as no other back has 300 receiving yards thus far. And things should only get better in the second half of the campaign.
Ashton Jeanty is set up for a second half of the season upswing
The Raiders kick-started the Fernando Mendoza Era when they traded Kirk Cousins back to the Minnesota Vikings on trade deadline day. Along with tight end Brock Bowers, of course, Jeanty is lined up to be a prominent target for the rookie signal caller as a safety blanket.
Week 10 against the Seattle Seahawks will be a tough matchup for Mendoza and the Las Vegas offense. However, a path of least resistance against the Seahawks' defense is through Jeanty in the passing game.
The Seahawks are in the middle of the pack in targets (5.8) and receptions (4.8) allowed per game to running backs so far this season. Compared to how they stifle wide receivers and tight ends, in raw production and fantasy points, they're downright generous to opposing running backs.
After facing Seattle, the Raiders don't face another defense that's currently top-15 against the run until the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 18. The Denver Broncos (Week 11 and 15), Cleveland Browns (Week 12), Los Angeles Chargers (Week 14), Tennessee Titans (Week 16) and Arizona Cardinals (Week 17) all entered Week 10 ranked 19th or worse against the run.
ESPN fantasy analyst Eric Moody noted that the Raiders have the seventh-best remaining schedule for running backs. Based on Mike Clay's strength of schedule cheat sheet, which has Raiders' remaining strength of schedule as 13th-best entering Week 10, that seems to be after the Seahawks' game is in the books.
This is a favorable stretch for Jeanty in the second half of the season.
Fernando Mendoza should naturally help Ashton Jeanty and the Raiders' run game
Cousins generally played as well as the Raiders could've hoped, making himself into a trade asset along the way. It's also fair to say his limitations in arm strength and mobility were a constraint on what Klint Kubiak could do as a play-caller, and it was easy for opposing defenses to clog things up for the run game.
If nothing else, Mendoza offers functional mobility and a fresh arm that Cousins just couldn't. Potential mistakes aside, defenses will have to be wary of the downfield passing game for the Raiders in a way they haven't been, for the most part, this season.
If Kubiak wants to sprinkle in an RPO or two, Mendoza is a viable threat to keep the ball and get chunks of yards with his legs. It can't get much worse than it has been for Jeanty on the ground over the last several weeks. But Week 9 was a promising sign, and moving forward, things look very bright.
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