I will be interested to see how the carries shake out for the Raiders tomorrow. Halfway through his second season, it’s looking like they might be souring on Ashton Jeanty.
It wasn’t supposed to go this way. When a team selects a running back 6th overall in a draft, it’s with the hope he might be something along the lines of Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson or Jahmyr Gibbs. That’s not happening, with Jeanty sputtering along at 3.1 yards per carry.
Below see a comparison of Jeanty against other running backs selected with first-round picks. There are 43 who’ve played at least 25 pro games, and only one of those guys averaged fewer yards per carry than Jeanty. That’s Trent Richardson, who was traded away less than a month into his second season.
| FIRST-ROUND RUNNING BACKS -- FIRST 25 GAMES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Pk | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2008 | Felix Jones, Dall. | 22 | 197 | 1,180 | 5.99 | 6 |
| 2023 | Jahmyr Gibbs, Det. | 12 | 315 | 1,741 | 5.53 | 18 |
| 2008 | Chris Johnson, Ten. | 24 | 450 | 2,470 | 5.49 | 17 |
| 2007 | Adrian Peterson, Min. | 7 | 480 | 2,521 | 5.25 | 20 |
| 2018 | Rashaad Penny, Sea. | 27 | 152 | 795 | 5.23 | 5 |
| 2003 | Larry Johnson, K.C. | 27 | 264 | 1,304 | 4.94 | 16 |
| 2004 | Steven Jackson, St.L. | 24 | 326 | 1,518 | 4.66 | 11 |
| 2018 | Saquon Barkley, NYG | 2 | 398 | 1,851 | 4.65 | 13 |
| 2010 | Ryan Mathews, S.D. | 12 | 369 | 1,711 | 4.64 | 13 |
| 2016 | Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | 4 | 564 | 2,614 | 4.63 | 22 |
| 2008 | Jonathan Stewart, Car. | 13 | 282 | 1,302 | 4.62 | 16 |
| 2023 | Bijan Robinson, Atl. | 8 | 330 | 1,522 | 4.61 | 8 |
| 2021 | Travis Etienne, Jac. | 25 | 371 | 1,708 | 4.60 | 12 |
| 2006 | Joseph Addai, Ind. | 30 | 418 | 1,913 | 4.58 | 15 |
| 2020 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire, K.C. | 32 | 315 | 1,436 | 4.56 | 8 |
| 2006 | DeAngelo Williams, Car. | 27 | 217 | 969 | 4.47 | 2 |
| 2008 | Rashard Mendenhall, Pitt. | 23 | 377 | 1,661 | 4.41 | 12 |
| 2019 | Josh Jacobs, Oak. | 24 | 461 | 1,981 | 4.30 | 16 |
| 2017 | Christian McCaffrey, Car. | 8 | 240 | 1,014 | 4.23 | 6 |
| 2006 | Laurence Maroney, N.E. | 21 | 327 | 1,378 | 4.21 | 9 |
| 2009 | Beanie Wells, Ari. | 31 | 262 | 1,100 | 4.20 | 9 |
| 2012 | Doug Martin, T.B. | 31 | 482 | 2,004 | 4.16 | 13 |
| 2005 | Ronnie Brown, Mia. | 2 | 394 | 1,622 | 4.12 | 9 |
| 2004 | Kevin Jones, Det. | 30 | 396 | 1,624 | 4.10 | 10 |
| 2003 | Willis McGahee, Buff. | 23 | 489 | 1,984 | 4.06 | 17 |
| 2015 | Todd Gurley, St.L. | 10 | 440 | 1,785 | 4.06 | 14 |
| 2007 | Marshawn Lynch, Buff. | 12 | 485 | 1,959 | 4.04 | 14 |
| 2009 | Knowshon Moreno, Den. | 12 | 393 | 1,580 | 4.02 | 11 |
| 2018 | Sony Michel, N.E. | 31 | 393 | 1,576 | 4.01 | 12 |
| 2017 | Leonard Fournette, Jac. | 4 | 473 | 1,883 | 3.98 | 14 |
| 2010 | C.J. Spiller, Buff. | 9 | 114 | 453 | 3.97 | 1 |
| 2005 | Cadillac Williams, T.B. | 5 | 473 | 1,875 | 3.96 | 7 |
| 2005 | Cedric Benson, Chi. | 4 | 243 | 961 | 3.95 | 6 |
| 2008 | Darren McFadden, Oak. | 4 | 217 | 856 | 3.94 | 5 |
| 2002 | T.J. Duckett, Atl. | 18 | 260 | 1,023 | 3.93 | 13 |
| 2004 | Chris Perry, Cin. | 26 | 133 | 517 | 3.89 | 2 |
| 2011 | Mark Ingram, N.O. | 28 | 268 | 1,037 | 3.87 | 10 |
| 2021 | Najee Harris, Pitt. | 24 | 415 | 1,561 | 3.76 | 8 |
| 2009 | Donald Brown, Ind. | 27 | 207 | 778 | 3.76 | 5 |
| 2015 | Melvin Gordon, S.D. | 15 | 418 | 1,549 | 3.71 | 9 |
| 2006 | Reggie Bush, N.O. | 2 | 275 | 1,016 | 3.69 | 10 |
| 2002 | William Green, Cle. | 16 | 426 | 1,563 | 3.67 | 7 |
| 2025 | Ashton Jeanty, L.V. | 6 | 374 | 1,312 | 3.51 | 6 |
| 2012 | Trent Richardson, Cle. | 3 | 394 | 1,327 | 3.37 | 13 |
It’s a team game, of course. And it’s fair to argue that Jeanty has been held back by suspect blocking. “"If they are last in the league in rushing yards before contact, that is more about the team as a whole than it is specifically about Jeanty," says former Raiders CEO Amy Trask.
And there have been a few spurts of goodness. As a rookie, Jeanty ran for 138 yards against the Bears, with 3 total TDs, and he ran for 128 yards and a touchdown at Houston, with an additional 60 on a touchdown catch. He leads all running backs this year with 37 receptions, and he’s averaged a healthy 10.2 yards on those plays.
But it’s troubling that rookie Mike Washington – behind the same offensive line – is averaging over a yard more per carry. Jeanty has finished under 3 yards per attempt in five of his eight games.
The Raiders hired Klint Kubiak in part because he seemed likely to help the running game. That hasn’t happened. They rank next-to-last in rushing.
Now, they seem to be moving to more of a one-two punch backfield. Against the Jets, Washington logged 25 carries (for 83 yards), while Jeanty finished with only 2 carries (for 9 yards). Jeanty did catch 3 passes in that game, including a 45-yarder, but the Raiders didn’t select him with a top-10 pick thinking he’d be primarily a third-down back.
Now, Jeanty has worked through an ankle injury, but that’s now a month in the rearview mirror. He hasn’t had an injury designation the last three games. He finished with only 10-9 and 8-6 edges in carries relative to Washington in the previous two games (averaging over 2 fewer yards per attempt in both games).
The change in playing time may be in part be an attempt at a wakeup call – letting Jeanty know that if he’s not productive, he won’t play as much.
All of which makes tomorrow’s game against their former Bay Area rivals interesting. San Francisco ranks 5th in run defense, so I don’t expect to see Las Vegas running for many yards.
If I’m picking between these two backs (and I actually am in a league), I would go with Jeanty. I believe they’ll give him a larger role as a runner, hoping they’ll be getting a guy looking to prove himself. More notably, I’m confident Jeanty will be significantly more productive in the passing game. Washington’s not really up to speed in that regard (he’s caught only 3 passes for 11 yards as a pro).
—Ian Allan
