When the Raiders took Ashton Jeanty sixth overall in 2025, the choice was widely applauded. Las Vegas didn’t appear to be in position to get its quarterback that year, so it addressed the running game first and figured it could find a passer later.
By the middle of Jeanty’s second season, though, he has become a minor part of the offense. Sunday’s game against the Jets made that hard to miss: Jeanty had two carries for nine yards, even as the Raiders ran 28 times. The coaching staff has played down the drop in his workload, but the pattern is there. After 23 carries in the season opener, he got fewer in each following game—10 by October 11, eight against the Rams, and then just two against New York.
Mike Washington Jr., a fourth-round pick in 2026, has increasingly taken Jeanty’s place. Coach Klint Kubiak seems to prefer Washington, whose larger frame suits a short-yardage, power-running role. Jeanty, meanwhile, is built to play on all three downs, but has found himself in an offense that doesn’t seem to have much use for him. It’s starting to look as if Kubiak drafted the back he wanted, leaving Jeanty on the outside of the plan.
Jeanty also has to take some responsibility. He has averaged just 3.5 yards per carry in the NFL, scored six touchdowns, and produced a successful run on 42% of his attempts. The Raiders’ poor offensive line is an obvious factor, but Jeanty hasn’t consistently made things happen on his own, either. He has averaged 1.9 yards after contact and only 1.5 yards before contact. That last figure is especially concerning; it suggests he hasn’t brought the explosiveness he showed in college.
The Raiders are at a crossroads. Kubiak is an offensive coach, but his teams have generally ranked in the bottom third of the league in rushing attempts during his three seasons as an offensive coordinator outside the year he spent in Seattle, when the team won the Super Bowl. Las Vegas doesn’t seem to have a clear role for Jeanty right now. Maybe the better choice is to admit the fit isn’t working and move on, rather than keep trying to make it work.
Several teams in the playoff hunt could use help at running back and might see Jeanty as someone they can get back on track—or as a player they rated highly in 2025 but didn’t manage to draft. Minnesota could be a fit, as could New England or Jacksonville. The bigger question is whether the Raiders are ready to make a move and deal with the reaction that would follow.
For now, two things stand out: Jeanty hasn’t played well, and the Raiders seem to have moved on.
