A complete bell cow-type back that handles 300-plus carries and close to 60 receptions per season all the while racking up 1,500-plus yards from scrimmage.
That’s a mighty high bar for any running back in the NFL, but for the Las Vegas Raiders’ Ashton Jeanty, that’s the expectation his head coach — Klint Kubiak — has for the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. And said high aspirations came to a screeching halt during the Raiders Sunday practice.
According to reports, Jeanty dove for a low pass, landed awkwardly before remaining on the turf and being helped up by trainers as he was unable to put any weight on his right leg. With players and coaches taking a knee, the injury appeared quite serious in nature. And, Sunday evening, both Adam Schefter and Ian Rapoport provided a reprieve — the ailment is believed to be a sprained ankle and not one of a season-ending variety.
No joke: When the injury news started spreading, I stopped typing this piece.
But while Las Vegas wades through the length of recovery for Jeanty, the Year 2 bar piece remains valid, albeit, potentially truncated with how many games the Raiders starting running back misses at the onset of the 2026 regular season. The type of ankle sprain is key, too. If it’s the high variant, that can result in longer recovery time and for a running back, zap them of the ability to thoroughly cut, plant, and create explosion from said ankle.
By The Numbers
Ashton Jeanty, Running Back, 2nd Year
- 2025: 17 games (17 starts), 266 attempts, 975 yards, 4 touchdowns; 73 targets, 55 receptions, 346 yards, 5 touchdowns
- Career: See above.
#Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty, who had to be helped off the practice field today, is believed to have sprained his ankle, sources tell @AdamSchefter and me.
Las Vegas still are unsure how long he will be out, but it is not considered a long-term injury and the organization is… pic.twitter.com/NchDFQDSdw
Missing the initial slate of games (we’re assuming three to four, once the type of sprain is brought to light as is the recovery timeframe) is likely the case for Las Vegas’ workhorse back and that’ll put the spotlight on promising 2026 draft pick Mike Washington Jr. (fourth round, 122nd overall). A bigger tailback at 6-foot-2 and 228 pounds, the Arkansas product physical stature, running style, and speed are very reminiscent of another former Razorback and Raider: Darren McFadden.
Washington showcased the vision, power, and ability to breakaway from defenders in the two preseason games thus far and it’ll be intriguing to see the New York native fare Week 1 and beyond. We’ll see if the electric running back can take advantage of one of the reasons Jeanty’s bar in Year 2 is so high: The offensive line revamp.
With Jeanty generating a pedestrian 3.7 yards per carry as a rookie as he was met by defenders often at the or behind the line of scrimmage — meaning at a meager 1.26 yards before contact, the majority of the Boise State product’s rushing yards he created on his own after contact — the Raiders spent big coin on free-agent center Tyler Linderbaum to anchor the offensive line. Left tackle Kolton Miller is back healthy and there’s fiery competition to fill the rest of the interior group.
That front five is set to be the heartbeat of Kubiak’s offense and fortunately for the Raiders head coach and offensive play caller, the running backs on the roster are a schematic fit for the heavy zone concepts being installed in the desert. The vision, one-cut decisiveness, tackle-breaking ability, alongside route running and soft hands as a receiver Jeanty has are a tailormade fit for Kubiak’s run game which relies on patient runners who read blocks and burst through cutback lanes to gore opposing defenses.
Washington can do much of the same, hence why the Raiders are excited about the 1-2 punch Jeanty and the rookie bring to the table.
ASHTON JEANTY ALL THE WAY!
LVvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxVpic.twitter.com/szuynuAtqu
Kubiak didn’t stutter when he broadcast his plan of using Jeanty in a Christian McCaffrey-type high-volume role that sees the RB1 get a majority of carries and be both an asset and weapon in the passing game.
As a rookie, Jeanty received his fair share of totes (266 carries) and targets (73)and the tailback produced despite often getting battered and bruised — 1,321 yards from scrimmage with 10 touchdowns (five on the ground, five more through the air).
Behind a much more accomplished play caller — who in turn, hired a veteran offensive line coach Rick Dennison — the needle is trending upwards in Las Vegas. We saw glimpses of what the offense can be and do in preseason action and watching a lead-blocking fullback in the run game is a welcome sight. That all noted, with improved play in the trenches alongside veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins (or rookie and No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza — Kubiak hasn’t officially named QB1 for Week 1) under center, and Kubiak orchestrating the offense, improved play is expected.
That said, Jeanty producing a total of 1,500 yards from scrimmage (1,100 yards rushing, 4oo more receiving) in 2026 is the Year 2 bar, statistically.
Getting Jeanty to be the all-around weapon in the Raiders’ offense is mission critical as Kubiak is old-school in his philosophy of a team’s run game being the engine of the attack. And the 5-foot-8 and 208-pound tailback has the skillset and production to become the type of chess piece running back Thurman Thomas was in the famed Buffalo Bills K-Gun offense in the late 1980s/1990s. The 5-foot-10 and 200-pound Oklahoma State product and hall of famer was equal parts dazzling and punishing runner and receiver.
Both Jeanty and Thomas have the elite contact balance and low center of gravity that makes them difficult to tackle and the processing and vision to exploit openings.
2 receiving TDs
3 total TDs
Ashton Jeanty is having a breakout game 🤩
CHIvsLV on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxVpic.twitter.com/8w5xLiEmXZ
While Kubiak has high expectations for Jeanty, he’s well aware even the workhorse needs a breather and having a big and fast spell back in Washington provides quite the jolt of a hammer. Believe it or not, at 22, Jeanty is younger than Washington (23) and having two young halfbacks in the room is a boon for Las Vegas.
The Raiders can find themselves in a similar situation like the 2008-11 seasons when the team had both McFadden and bruising back Michael Bush. The pair complemented each other’s running styles culminating in an impressive 2010 season where McFadden ran for 1,157 yards and seven touchdowns along with 47 receptions for 507 yards and three more end zone visits. Bush, meanwhile, had 655 yards and eight touchdowns rushing and 18 catches for 194 yards.
The following season, Bush paced the Raiders ground game with 977 yards and seven touchdowns along with 37 receptions for 418 yards and a score. McFadden, on the other hand, had 614 yards and four touchdowns rushing and 19 catches for 154 yards and a score.
With Washington likely to earn the RB1 role with Jeanty missing any games, the rookie gets to set the tone and it’ll be interesting to see both their usage when the sixth overall pick from the 2025 draft gets a clean bill of health.
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