Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty had an up-and-down showing in the first game of his NFL career. The sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft received 19 carries and, while he scored a touchdown, he had just 38 rushing yards.
He was also targeted twice in the passing game, bringing in both passes. However, he finished with just two receiving yards. All in all, he had 21 total touches, averaging 1.9 yards on those plays. That is hardly the production that a team hopes for when they select a player in the top 10 of the draft.
However, it was clear that much of the lack of production was no fault of his own. An NFL insider revealed the good and bad from Jeanty's Raiders debut. He also noted that there may be a silver lining in the running back's play.
NFL insider discusses pros and cons of Ashton Jeanty's Raiders debut
While there were plays where Jeanty looked as advertised, his final stat line left plenty to be desired. ESPN's Field Yates discussed the ups and downs of Jeanty's performance on Fantasy Focus, while noting a wild stat that indicates just how bad the Raiders' offensive line was in Week 1.
"Here's the good on Ashton Jeanty: he played 86% of the snaps. That is an astronomical figure. He had 19 carries, you like that. He found the end zone, you like that, right? Here is the bad for Ashton Jeanty: he had 38 rushing yards. He had 44 rushing yards after contact and 38 rushing yards on average. So, Ashton Jeanty was getting zilch from his offensive line in terms of blocking," Yates said. "We certainly were hopeful for a little more than 2.0 yards per carry. Here's the only, and this is a little bit of grasping for straws, but it's a silver lining: the Raiders were up in this game, right? They were trying to kill the clock. When you're trying to kill the clock, what do you do? You run the football. What does the defense know you're going to do? Run the football. What does the defense do? Sell out to stop the run and stack the box. Early in the game, Jeanty was running well; the eye test was good to him. I'm holding stock here."
For Jeanty to have more yards after contact than total yards would mean that he was constantly fending off defenders in the back field. Las Vegas' offensive line truly gave him no room to run, especially as they got worn out by New England's front as the game went on.
Yates noted that he would have liked to see Jeanty more involved in the passing game, including receiving screen passes. The Raiders running back started the game strong with five carries for 24 yards in the first quarter.
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While his lone second-quarter carry went for no yards, he went into halftime averaging a respectable 4.0 yards per rush. He also caught one pass for four yards in the second quarter, so the rookie got off to a respectable start.
The third quarter was when the tide began to shift in one way for Las Vegas, but another for Jeanty. He had three carries for six yards and one reception for -2 yards. In the fourth quarter, with the Raiders looking to ice the clock, he had ten carries for just eight yards.
Jeanty had four runs in the final four minutes of the game for just one yard. The offensive line had some issues on Sunday, but the unit, along with the star running back, should be better when there is less predictability. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Jeanty bounce back in Week 2 against the Chargers.