Ashton Jeanty’s rookie season didn’t look the way many expected. The numbers were modest. The efficiency was underwhelming. And by the end of the year, the word “disappointing” had begun to quietly follow his name.
But context has a way of changing stories.
The Las Vegas Raiders entered the 2025 season in flux — uncertain leadership, unstable quarterback play, and one of the league’s weakest offensive lines. Jeanty, a young running back still learning the speed and violence of the NFL, was dropped directly into the middle of that chaos. He didn’t fail. He survived.
Now, everything around him is changing.
The Raiders’ decision to hire Klint Kubiak as head coach signals more than a philosophical shift. It signals intent. Kubiak arrives fresh off a season where he helped guide Sam Darnold to a Super Bowl and watched Jaxon Smith-Njigba explode into the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. That résumé matters — but how he achieved it matters more.
Kubiak builds offenses from the ground up, and that foundation starts with the run game.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jeanty averaged just 0.6 yards before contact per carry in 2025 — the worst mark among running backs with at least 100 attempts. That stat alone reframes his season. No back thrives when defenders are already in the backfield. No rookie grows when every carry is a collision.
Seattle’s 2025 rushing attack tells the opposite story.
Under Kubiak, Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet combined for nearly 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns, both posting career-high efficiency grades. The run game wasn’t an accessory — it was the engine that created rhythm, tempo, and explosive opportunities elsewhere.
That same structure is now headed to Las Vegas.
The Raiders hold the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and are widely expected to select quarterback Fernando Mendoza. A rookie quarterback changes everything — especially for a running back. When reads are simplified and pressure is shared, the ground game becomes both protection and permission.
Jeanty is positioned to benefit immediately.
In his rookie year, he was often asked to create without help. This time, the Raiders are expected to invest heavily in the offensive line through free agency and scheme. Improvement there is the single biggest variable in Jeanty’s future — and Kubiak’s track record suggests it won’t be ignored.
But Jeanty isn’t just a between-the-tackles runner.
One of the most overlooked aspects of his rookie season was how rarely his receiving skill set was used creatively. Outside of screens and check-downs, he was mostly a safety valve. That’s not who he is. His 60-yard touchdown reception — where he outran a linebacker and finished in stride — hinted at a much broader ceiling.
Kubiak has a history of exploiting that versatility.
Seattle’s offense thrived on timing routes, play-action shots, and running backs who could stress defenses horizontally and vertically. Jeanty fits that mold better than his rookie usage suggested.
Despite all the dysfunction around him, Jeanty still reached 1,000 yards of total offense as a rookie. Not explosively. Not efficiently. But persistently. That alone is telling.
Now, he enters a second season with clearer direction, better spacing, and an offensive philosophy built to let running backs dictate terms rather than absorb punishment.
Nothing is guaranteed. Injuries still matter. The offensive line still has to improve. Mendoza still has to adjust to NFL speed.
But for the first time, the Raiders aren’t asking Jeanty to overcome the system.
They’re building one around him.
And if Kubiak’s recent history is any indication, Ashton Jeanty’s rookie year may end up being remembered not as a warning — but as the floor.
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