It’s no secret that the Las Vegas Raiders were the worst rushing team in the NFL last season. Head coach Pete Carroll plans to change that this season, and the team made a huge commitment to that in drafting running back Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Jeanty was the Heisman Trophy runner-up at Boise State last year and rushed for the second-most yards in college football history, so it would make sense that most would assume him to be the bellcow back. But Carroll has traditionally gone with a committee approach in the backfield, and he still plans on that with the Raiders.
Following the end of mandatory minicamp, Carroll spoke about the backfield and made it clear that he isn’t relying on any single person to carry the run game, via Grant Gordon of NFL.com:
“I love having multiple guys play,” Carroll told reporters Thursday at the conclusion of the team’s mandatory minicamp. “I’m not relying on one guy, you know.”
Along with Jeanty, the Raiders also added Raheem Mostert in free agency, who rushed for over 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2023. The team also brought back Zamir White and Sincere McCormick from last year’s squad, with McCormick in particular showing some serious flashes down the stretch of last season before going down due to injury.
But despite having faith in all of the Raiders’ backs, Carroll also made it clear that Jeanty has been everything the franchise has hoped so far through minicamp:
“Ashton looks every bit what we had hoped he would look like,” Carroll said. “He caught the ball really well, he understood stuff, took everything really seriously, gave terrific effort throughout. And we made a big deal to him — everybody’s watching you, you know — and he embraced the thought of it. So, it’s going to be exciting to see what happens.”
Carroll has always been a coach who relies on multiple backs, not only throughout his time with the Seattle Seahawks, but even all the way back to his USC days. In all likelihood, Jeanty will be the primary ballcarrier, but expect the Raiders to sprinkle in some carries for some other guys who earn their opportunities in training camp.
Raiders’ rookie WR Dont’e Thornton further along than expected
Ashton Jeanty is the rookie offensive weapon getting the most attention for the Raiders, but they did pick up another promising player in receiver Dont’e Thornton, a 6’4 speedster who averaged 25.4 yards per reception as a senior at Tennessee.
Originally thought to be more of a project, the early reports out of minicamp are that Thornton’s footwork and route running are more advanced than originally believed, and he is also taking reps as a kick returner, so Thornton could be one to keep an eye on for the Raiders this season.
