The Las Vegas Raiders have a lot invested in running back Ashton Jeanty after taking him with the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
The expectation with any pick that high is the player will become a star, and we know Jeanty has the goods to be that after an illustrious college career.
Raiders coach Pete Carroll is high on Jeanty, also, as evidenced by his comparing the young running back to a pair of NFL legends, Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders, and former elite back Marshawn Lynch, who played for Carroll.
“If you’ve watched him enough, there’s something about his style that’s reminiscent of some other great backs,” Carroll said on the Get Got Pod with Marshawn Lynch and Mike Robinson.
“He has an ability to use the force of the tackler and he goes with the force and he glances and bounces. Like Emmitt [Smith], like Marshawn [Lynch], he would bang off of things as opposed to banging into them.”
“I watched everything, as much as I could, because I was trying to determine, does he have the special? Does he have that knack, that sense. Emmitt and Barry [Sanders], and Marshawn, they had that sense. It’s almost like a martial art, using the other person’s power to your advantage,” Carroll added.
What’s more impressive about Jeanty’s running style is he can also explode past the line for big gains, so he isn’t just a power runner.
While Carroll has said that Jeanty won’t be the only back he utilizes this season, the rookie is in line to carry the bulk of the workload, with Raheem Mostert and Sincere McCormick among the backs competing for snaps behind him.
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