In a move that epitomized the short and disastrous Pete Carroll era, the Las Vegas Raiders put the cart before the horse when they took Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty at No. 6 overall in last April's draft.
At best, they had three offensive linemen who were starting-caliber, and by the time Carroll and his offensive line coach son were through unnecessarily tinkering, they truly had two. And by the end of this season, both of them were out with significant injuries.
While Jeanty did yeoman's work during his rookie season, with over 1,300 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns, he was put in a precarious position far too often behind a bad offensive line in arguably the worst offensive environment around the league.
Raiders must make Ashton Jeanty's life dramatically easier this offseason
Any yards before or after contact metric shows how difficult Jeanty had it this season, but one number sums it up:
According to Pro Football Focus, 815 of Jeanty's 975 rushing yards came after contact. That's 83.5 percent of his yardage gained after he was initially hit by a defender. In direct relation to that, he forced 61 missed tackles during the regular season (tied for fifth-most in the league).
Jim Wyman of Pro Football Focus recently gauged the concern level for five 2025 first-round picks who had disappointing rookie seasons. Jeanty, of course, made that list, but Wyman stated the case for the concern level to be low.
"Among running backs with at least 100 rushing attempts, Jeanty’s average of 0.6 yards before contact per run ranked third-worst. Only the Browns‘ Quinshon Judkins and the Seahawks' Zach Charbonnet were getting hit sooner. He did manage to force 61 missed tackles on runs, which tied Kenneth Walker III for the fifth most in the league.
"For Jeanty to reach his full potential, the Raiders desperately need to invest in their offensive line. They currently hold the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which is expected to be used on Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza — a selection that should take some pressure off Jeanty. After him, though, offensive line prospects become scarce. The PFF Big Board features only 15 offensive linemen in the top 100, regardless of position.
"On the plus side, the Raiders currently have the second-most cap space, according to Over The Cap, so free agency could be their avenue to run-game advancements."
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Along the same line, Dalton Wasserman of PFF has Jeanty as the Raiders' early breakout candidate for next season.
"While Jeanty rushed for nearly 1,000 yards in his debut campaign, he did so at an incredibly inefficient rate. He averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, and more than 80% of his yards came after contact," Wasserman pointed out. "That was primarily the result of Las Vegas' 30th-ranked PFF run-blocking grade. If the team can improve its offensive line and quarterback play, Jeanty could be set on a path toward greater production in 2026."
The Raiders' quarterback play, even if rookie Fernando Mendoza is the Week 1 starter next season, really can't be any worse than it was in 2025. The offensive line can't be any worse, either, and there's a path to make it noticeably better in free agency and/or the draft.
Las Vegas obviously needs to surround its incoming young quarterback, likely Mendoza, with a solid framework. But a rookie quarterback's best friend is a good run game, and a workhorse back like Jeanty already being in place takes that idea up a notch.
What's good for Jeanty will be good for the entire Raiders' offense. So making it easier for him to have success is arguably the No. 1 offseason priority, this side of bringing in Mendoza in as the No. 1 pick in the draft. And even that stands to benefit Jeanty.