The first year of ashton jeanty in Las Vegas delivered a clear split: steady volume, strong scoring, and stretches that still exposed how hard the NFL can be for a young back. With the 2026 NFL Draft now just days away, the Raiders are looking back at the 2025 class and measuring what Jeanty brought to the field.
Las Vegas took Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in 2025, choosing him as the player it believed was best in the class. His rookie season finished with 266 carries for 975 yards and five rushing touchdowns, plus 55 catches for 346 yards and five more scores.
Ashton Jeanty gave the Raiders volume and scoring
The numbers show a back who handled a major workload from the start. Jeanty played all 17 games and started each one, giving the Raiders a weekly presence in the offense and a consistent scoring punch.
He finished with more than 1, 300 scrimmage yards and 10 total touchdowns, a strong opening line for any first-year player. That production mattered even more because he was running behind what was described as a poor offensive line, forcing him to create a lot of his own room.
One measure of that effort stood out sharply: Jeanty finished with 807 yards after contact, and at one point that figure was at 101 percent. That helped explain why his raw totals still looked productive even in a season with uneven efficiency.
The slow start mattered, but the finish looked better
The early part of the year was harder to trust. Jeanty averaged fewer than three yards per carry, a number that pointed to both his adjustment to NFL speed and the lack of space in front of him.
That changed as the season moved on. The game began to slow down for ashton jeanty, and he put together more complete performances late in the year.
Over the final seven games, he totaled 117 carries for 421 yards and a touchdown, including a 128-yard game against the Houston Texans. That late surge was the clearest sign that his rookie season was trending upward, even if the full-year efficiency remained mixed.
Immediate reaction centered on value, not perfection
One evaluation of the Raiders’ 2025 draft class framed Jeanty as a player who already looks like a building block. The same view noted that his production outpaced the rest of the No. 2 jersey group in team history, which helped make his case in a thin comparison.
Another read on the season made the bigger point: the Raiders did not get a flawless debut, but they did get a rookie back who produced, carried the load, and showed growth over time. For a team entering a new draft cycle, that is a meaningful first step for ashton jeanty.
What the rookie year means now
The broader context is simple. Las Vegas used a premium pick on Jeanty because it believed he was the best player available, and his first season gave the team enough to justify that belief while still leaving room for improvement.
As the 2026 NFL Draft arrives, the Raiders can point to a rookie year that included volume, touchdowns, and a stronger finish than start. The next question is whether ashton jeanty turns that foundation into a cleaner, more efficient second season.
