Just over a month ago, the Las Vegas Raiders selected running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. While the reviews about him at Raiders OTAs are incredibly positive, the rookie back made headlines for a different reason over the last few weeks.
In college, Jeanty became popular for not only his dominance on the field but his unorthodox pre-snap stance as well. Clearly, the posture worked, but as a guest on the Up and Adams Show, Jeanty talked about how Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly encouraged him to adjust it.
The story that Jeanty told was about Kelly making a basketball analogy and effectively telling him to bend his knees before the play instead of standing straight up and down as he did at Boise State. Head coach Pete Carroll poked fun at the story during a press conference at OTAs.
Chip Kelly denied his involvement in Ashton Jeanty's stance change
When Kelly took the podium late last week, however, he did not have quite the same sense of humor. Las Vegas' new play-caller made sure to clear the air about what transpired, who was responsible and why the whole ordeal is utter nonsense.
"Let's get that clarified. Deland McCullough, our running back coach, is in charge of stances, steps, alignments, assignments and techniques," Kelly said. "So, he talked to him about that; I gave (Jeanty) an analogy of an athlete being in a bent knee position to make a play. ... It literally is about three inches so I really don't think that is that big a deal."
Kelly made several things clear during this strong statement. Not only was his involvement in the stance change minimal, but the stance change itself is a small issue.
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McCullough is a well-respected position coach in the NFL, so his words should be held in high esteem, especially by a rookie running back. Jeanty did draw praise for being adaptable and coachable, so this has been a non-issue, like Raider Nation expected.
If Jeanty ends up struggling in this new stance, then the new regime does not seem rigid enough to force it upon him. However, if bending his knees before the snap gives him even more speed and power, then NFL defenses need to start game planning today.
Simple adjustments are always made for young players, especially when a new coaching staff is in place and trying to establish a certain way of doing things. The only reason that this story got dragged so far out of proportion is that Jeanty is a big-name player with sky-high expectations as a rookie.