From the blue field of Boise State to the Silver and Black, Ashton Jeanty will roam.
The Las Vegas Raiders selected Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft on Thursday in Green Bay, Wisconsin, making him the highest running back drafted since Saquon Barkley at No. 2 in 2018.
Jeanty had been linked to the Raiders for weeks now, from new head coach Pete Carroll’s love of running backs to new general manager John Spytek admitting at the Annual League Meeting that his own son said he’d walk “out of the family” if the GM passed on the Broncos standout.
In the Raiders’ pre-draft news conference, Spytek was clear that he wouldn’t shy away from taking a running back at No. 6, and he didn’t. With the pick, Jeanty becomes the first RB drafted in the opening round by the franchise since 2019 when Josh Jacobs was taken.
The pre-draft chatter did not go unnoticed by Jeanty, who told reporters on Thursday night that he knew there was "no way the Raiders weren't going to pick me" after he heard about Spytek's sons threat, per The Athletic.
"I am super duper excited," Jeanty added, via The Athletic. "There is lot of history in the Raiders building and I am excited to be a part of that."
Jeanty will be called on to replace Jacobs, who left for the Packers in free agency last year. Las Vegas languished in the run game without Jacobs to the tune of 1,357 yards in 2024, finishing last in the league rushing yards.
Jeanty shined in 2024 on the ground, rushing for nearly double the Raiders’ total with his 2,601-yard senior showing.
A first-team All-American in back-to-back years, Jeanty took home the Doak Walker Award as the nation's top running back and the Maxwell Award as the best all-around player in 2024.
The 5-foot-8, 211-pound back packs a punch. A slippery runner with elusiveness and cut-back talent that has conjured comparisons to LaDainian Tomlinson and Barry Sanders, Jeanty is a surefire playmaker from the backfield.
The comparisons are weighty but apt. The Boise State product owns the rare combo of burst, shiftiness and power to finish runs. The biggest knock might be that he doesn't boast the elite top-end straight-line speed, but neither did L.T. When a defensive back's ankles are broken in space, the speed becomes superfluous.
Jeanty's college highlight tape is enough to make any scout drool. He owns the vision, balance and wiggle to leave defenders gasping for air. He's got the tight-quarter slipperiness of an Alvin Kamara, able to slide through tackles.
The 21-year-old also boasts excellent hands to excel in the screen game or as an outlet. The back will have to negate the fumbles after coughing up nine over the past two seasons.
In three years at Boise, Jeanty generated 4,769 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns. He added 80 catches for 862 yards and another six scores. In 2024, he galloped for the aforementioned 2,601 rushing yards, falling just shy of Sanders' collegiate record (2,628).
Jeanty fills a massive need for the Raiders and portends to be a game-changer for a franchise that’s had three straight losing seasons.
In 2023, the Atlanta Falcons picked Bijan Robinson at No. 8 and the Detroit Lions followed with Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12. Both selections were critiqued at the time, and both have worked out so far.
Last year, there wasn’t a single back selected in the first round. Barkley’s sensational season for the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles coupled with a talented RB class seems to have altered the outlook on the importance of running backs once again, however.
The Raiders weren’t afraid to use a high pick on a back they believe can change their future, and the 2025 draft is off and running.