Ashton Jeanty just got some of the worst disrespect he could get from an NFL analyst, and the reasoning doesn’t make much sense
The Las Vegas Raiders have one of the best running backs in the league in Ashton Jeanty, and it’s really not even close.
The Las Vegas Raiders are entering the 2026 season with higher standards than they had last year. This time around, they have to take advantage of their cornerstone pieces, such as Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty. Both could be the best in the league at their positions.
And that’s something that just doesn’t happen. How often do you see the same team have two players who are the best at their position? Not often. The Raiders have that potential. But Bowers has kind of already been recognized as that. In his rookie season, he was the best tight end, and it wasn’t close. He had a down year last season with injuries. As for Jeanty, he could easily be a top-five RB. But right now, it appears that Jeanty is only seen as a top-20 RB, for some odd reason.
Pro Football Focus lists Ashton Jeanty as the 20th-best running back in the NFL
“Jeanty battled through atrocious offensive line play in his rookie season. His 0.6 yards before contact per carry was the third-lowest mark among all players with at least 100 carries.”
This is kind of wild reasoning to rank a player 20th. Why? Well, you see, that’s not his fault. That’s not even his fault in the slightest. 780 of his 975 rushing yards came after contact, and he led the league with 43 broken tackles. Yet Jeanty still managed 1,300 scrimmage yards and 10 scrimmage touchdowns.
The offensive line has drastically improved now. Not only did they bring in the best run-blocking offensive lineman in the league in Tyler Linderbaum, but they’ve also added insane depth. They have so many options at offensive guard and even a few at right tackle. So, Jeanty should undoubtedly have a better season than he did last year, when he had the 18th-most rushing yards.
The ranking would be fair if they said something about Jeanty’s game that made him look like a top-20 RB. But here’s the deal: they only mentioned his offensive line. The stat provided literally shows how bad the offensive line was. With all of the moves they have made, I think we will be seeing the Raiders with a top-seven, maybe top-five, running back in the league.