Ashton Jeanty’s first months in Las Vegas have been about more than just learning a new playbook. The Raiders’ rookie running back is trying to grow into the kind of player who can help reshape an offense that was flat-out miserable on the ground a year ago.
Last season, Las Vegas finished with the NFL’s worst rushing unit, and the numbers sat at the very bottom of the league’s offensive pile. Even with Jeanty taken No. 6 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, the ground game never got on track. The problems came from multiple directions, including Jeanty’s own decision-making at times and an offensive line that didn’t consistently generate push or protection.
The Raiders have spent the offseason trying to fix that mess. They brought in Klint Kubiak, a wide-zone specialist, to run the team. They also added center Tyler Linderbaum and guard Spencer Burford in free agency, then used a third-round pick on versatile offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III.
That overhaul gives Jeanty a real chance to make noise this fall. His talent has never been the question. At Boise State, he was dominant for two years, and while Las Vegas may not get that same level of control over the game every week, the ceiling is still obvious: a back who can threaten defenses on every down because of how many things he can do.
Jeanty is also starting to show that his role in the building goes beyond production. He’s becoming a voice in the locker room, and he knows that comes with pressure. The expectations around him are already high, and he wants to meet them by being more vocal and helping the players around him.
That leadership growth is happening at the same time he’s trying to get comfortable in a system that’s new to him. Training camp has been about adjustment for Jeanty, rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and the rest of the offense as they learn the wide-zone approach.
Jeanty likes the concept and believes he can succeed in any scheme. Still, this one gives the offense a rhythm and balance that can stress defenses snap after snap. It’s the kind of system that has helped players like Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Christian McCaffrey, and Kenneth Walker III produce big numbers recently.
It has also opened another door for Jeanty: work in the slot, giving the Raiders a fresh way to move him around and force defenses to account for him in more than one spot.
The next real checkpoint will come when the pads come on. The Raiders haven’t reached that stage yet, and probably won’t for a few more practices. Once they do, there will be a clearer picture of how Kubiak wants to attack and how Jeanty fits into it.
For now, the idea is simple enough. If Jeanty stays healthy and the wide-zone system clicks, the Raiders may finally have a running game that looks nothing like last year’s disaster.
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There are a couple of quieter competitions worth keeping an eye on as camp goes on. Jermod McCoy has been working with the second and third defensive units while also getting time on special teams, and the fullback spot has its own battle going with Connor Heyward and Patrick Gurd. Decamerion Richardson has also begun to surface in the mix, giving the coaching staff another defender to evaluate as the Raiders keep piecing together the back end of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
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Cousins also made his case on the field during a recent practice, flashing the kind of sharpness that keeps the race very much alive. For the Raiders, that is the point of camp right now: find out whether the veteran presence, the promising young arm or another option can separate before the preseason decisions start to matter even more. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Already Have A Quarterback Question They Didnt Want This Soon
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Still, this is the sort of setup that can change quickly in Las Vegas if the younger arm starts turning heads in practice. Mendoza is expected to push Cousins from day one, and the Raiders know this kind of arrangement can create pressure long before the calendar gets deep into the season, especially when a rookie comes in with the kind of pedigree that makes patience harder to maintain. [Read more 🡒]