Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty has not been the player they thought they were getting when they selected him with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
After Sunday's loss to the Rams, in which Jeanty ran for just 15 yards on eight carries, Jeanty has a total of 106 carries for 328 yards this season, an average of just 3.1 yards per carry. No runner in the league who's getting the ball as much as Jeanty has such a low average.
Jeanty's inability to make big plays running the ball can't just be blamed on the offense or his blocking, as his backup, rookie fourth-round pick Mike Washington, is averaging a solid 4.9 yards per carry this season.
A low yards-per-carry average could be excused if Jeanty were getting tough gains in short-yardage situations, but he's not doing that, either. He has only 15 rushing first downs; every other running back with at least 90 carries this season has more rushing first downs than Jeanty. And Jeanty has just one rushing touchdown.
If there's a bright side, it's that Jeanty has made plays catching the ball. In Sunday's loss he caught all eight of the passes thrown to him, for 61 yards and a touchdown. For the season, Jeanty has 34 catches for 312 yards and three receiving touchdowns.
Jeanty said after Sunday's game that he's not discouraged.
"It's a long season, we've got a lot of football left, so regardless of what it looks like, we've got to keep working, keep getting better, no matter what it looks like," Jeanty said.
So far, what it looks like is a young running back falling well short of expectations.