The Raiders’ backfield is drifting toward a tougher conversation, and Ashton Jeanty’s box scores are making it impossible to ignore.
In Sunday’s 33-30 loss to the Bills, Jeanty was held under three yards per carry for the fourth time in five games. Meanwhile, Mike Washington Jr. reached at least four yards per carry for the fourth time in six games, giving the Raiders a split that’s getting harder to explain away.
Jeanty was the major investment a year ago, and the expectation was that he’d bring some juice to the offense. That hasn’t shown up often enough yet. Washington, not Jeanty, has been the runner delivering the bigger plays.
Three of the Raiders’ four longest runs this season have come from Washington, even though he has only 25 carries to Jeanty’s 88.
Health is still part of the equation, too. Jeanty said he felt great at practice this week and was off the injury report by week’s end, but television cameras showed him grimacing after runs twice in the first quarter Sunday.
If his foot and/or ankles are still an issue, the Raiders may need to give him a week off rather than keep sending him out to grind through two-yard outings. If the version of Jeanty they’ve been getting lately is the healthy one, that’s a bad sign for where this goes next.
The blocking hasn’t helped. Jeanty was met in the backfield several times against Buffalo, including a goal line stuff that appeared to come after a missed block by second-year guard Caleb Rogers. That has to get cleaned up, and soon.
Washington may also be forcing the issue. He looked solid in pass protection against the Bills, which could matter if that has been keeping him off the field.
He’s bigger than Jeanty, has more straight-line speed, and even though he’s in his first season, he is actually four months older than Jeanty. Washington also wasn’t that far behind Jeanty in college workload, logging 587 carries over a five-year career at Boise State compared to Jeanty’s 750.
The Raiders will sort it out next week against the Rams, but the trend lines are clear enough already: this backfield is headed toward a true committee based on what the two runners have produced over the last few weeks.
In Other News...
Raiders Fans Should Be Careful With The Ashton Jeanty Comparison
Ashton Jeantys early Raiders production has invited an ugly comparison, mostly because the surface numbers look familiar to anyone who remembers Trent Richardsons rapid NFL fade. The caution here is that context matters. Richardson entered the league with a different kind of pre-draft hype and landed behind a stronger blocking environment, while Jeanty has had to navigate a Raiders offense that has not given him much room to work with.
Still, the concerns around Jeanty are real enough to keep the conversation going. His low yards per carry and frequent negative or no-gain runs have been a problem, and the Raiders have not made life easier with poor run blocking, while an ankle issue only adds another layer to the evaluation. The larger point is not that everything is fine, only that it is too early to stamp him with Richardsons fate when the situations around the two backs have not been remotely the same. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Offensive Line Trouble Has Put Spytek Under Early Pressure
With the Raiders trying to steady an offensive line that has already become a concern, the front office made another round of roster adjustments this week. Las Vegas brought in offensive tackles Amari Kight and Darian Kinnard on the practice squad as part of a push to add more protection depth before facing the Los Angeles Rams.
At the same time, the Raiders cleared room by moving on from tight end Chris Myarick and offensive lineman Evan Neal. It is an early sign that general manager John Spytek is willing to keep working the roster aggressively, and the bigger question is how much improvement he can engineer in time to help a unit that needs it quickly. [Read more 🡒]
Raiders Backfield Suddenly Has A Workload Question Fans Should Watch
The Raiders left Buffalo with a few encouraging signs in the backfield, even if the loss itself still lingered. Rookie Mike Washington Jr. gave the offense a lift with his running, and head coach Klint Kubiak came away pleased enough to point to better production and effort from the group overall.
Kubiaks comments also suggest this is not turning into a one-back operation just yet. Ashton Jeanty and Dylan Laube remain part of the mix, and the workload split in the weeks ahead should be worth watching as Las Vegas tries to find a steadier rhythm on the ground. [Read more 🡒]