Armando Guzman from California asks:
“How good can the offense be with Jeanty?”
In our last installment of Mailbag, an Ashton Jeanty question arose about how many touches he could receive in this offense.
That question and Armando’s question play hand in hand – the more touches for Jeanty, the better for this Raiders offense.
The 2025 first-round pick continues to see ample amount of reps in OTAs. There’s no doubt his usage will be high as a rusher, as the Silver and Black ranked 32nd in rushing yards last season. But it seems Kelly is placing Jeanty all over the field, giving him more opportunities to get the ball in open space in last week’s practices. This included screen passes and getting the ball to the running back out in the flat.
“Ashton is as talented at back as a young guy coming in the league that I’ve seen,” Kelly said. “He’s really special. His ability to sustain runs after contact, his contact balances is kind of a really rare quality. He’s got a low center of gravity, and I think it’s tough to get him down and normally the first guy doesn’t.”
It’s easy to look in awe at Jeanty’s 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground last year, but don’t overlook his 569 receiving yards and five touchdowns his sophomore season. His ability to do multiple things, and those things well, can help open up the rest of the offense around him, which will make life easier for Kelly drawing up plays and Smith finding open receivers.
“[H]e’s awesome, and he’s such a coachable guy that you can do a lot of things with him,” Kelly added. “I think he can play in the slot, he can play in the back field, he can do a lot of different things. He’s special.”