Last April the Raiders took Ashton Jeanty sixth overall, becoming the highest drafted running back since 2018 when the Giants took Saquon Barkley at second overall. And no other back was ever even considered to be drafted nearly that high. The next highest picked back in this year’s class was Omarion Hampton at pick 22. So, before either of these backs take an NFL field, you’d have to figure Jeanty would be the best back in this class, right? Not so fast. There’s clicks to think about. And that would just be too easy.

So, in the interest of saving you from giving said click for said trash take, I will tell you what Maurice Jones-Drew did with his RB rankings and his reasoning for where Hampton and Jeanty ranked.

Let’s start with the rankings.

Hampton is ranked as the 13th best running back in the NFL heading into 2025. A full four spots ahead of Jeanty at 17.

The headline would suggest his ranking is based on talent alone “Where does each team’s starter land heading into the 2025 season”. Then in the lead-in, he says the rankings are based essentially on where he thinks they’ll *finish* the 2025 season, noting specifically that the rankings are based on “projected production”.

Here’s his reason for putting Hampton at 13, immediately addressing where he knows everyone will take issue.

Some of you might be surprised to see Hampton ranked higher than No. 6 overall pick Ashton Jeanty, based on their respective standings in my pre-draft RB rankings, but hear me out. Hampton joins a Jim Harbaugh-led offense that loves to the run the ball, so there will be plenty of touches to go around. He should be the bell cow for this unit — with veteran Najee Harris in the backup role — thanks to his patience and ability to bounce off defenders. Hampton is in the perfect situation to find early success, and while you could say similar things about Jeanty, Pete Carroll’s recent comments (which I’ll get to in a minute) swayed my opinion some.

Then his reasoning for Jeanty at 17:

I can’t wait to watch Jeanty take his first NFL snap. The No. 6 overall pick in this year’s draft is tough to tackle and should fit perfectly in an attack that wants to bully opponents under Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly. Carroll said last month that the offense won’t rely on just one back in the ground game, but it’s hard to envision the Raiders consistently looking to Raheem Mostert, Zamir White or Sincere McCormick when they have a talent like Jeanty on the roster.

So, let’s see if I have this straight. Based on what most consider to be a fair amount of coach speak, he has ranked Pete Carroll’s top pick at sixth overall in his first season with a new team in the bottom half of the league’s starters and behind a back who was taken 16 spots later in the draft.

MJD should know as well as any of us that coaches often say they will be spreading the load in the backfield. I would bet you I could find a quote where Josh McDaniels said something similar the offseason before Josh Jacobs had a league-leading 340 carries. That was the year they had just signed Ameer Abdullah and Brandon Bolden, and drafted Zamir White. And those three had a combined 38 carries that season.

So, MJD thinks a 33-year-old Raheem Mostert and two unproven backs — one of whom may not even make the team — are seriously going to eat that much into Jeanty’s carries? Yeah, don’t see it. And I don’t think he honestly does either. But…clicks.