“He’s in for a rude awakening”: NFL fans react to Ashton Jeanty’s lofty rookie expectations with Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders are banking on Ashton Jeanty to lead their backfield next season. However, some are having a hard time believing that will happen.

In an interview with CBS Sports on Monday, the Raiders' sixth pick in the 2025 draft said,

“I’m hoping for 1,500 rushing and we’ll say like 10-20 touchdowns.”

Some fans are sceptical he can get that because of the team he'll have blocking for him.

“He’s in for a rude awakening with that O-line,” a fan said.

“Maybe if he had a good Oline, sadly he doesn’t,” The Detroit Times tweeted.

“Delusional with that OL,” a fan said.

As a team, the Raiders averaged 3.6 yards per carry in 2024, the lowest in the NFL.

"No OL in Vegas," another fan said.

"Does he know he plays for the Raiders lol," a fan tweeted.

Last season, the Raiders offensive line gave up the eighth-most sacks in the league (50). Jeanty had a heavy workload in college with 374 carries in 2024, well above the 220 he had the previous season.

In their first season without Josh Jacobs in 2024, the Raiders finished last in the league in team rushing, averaging 79.8 yards per game. Vegas' leading rusher last season was Alexander Mattison, who averaged 3.2 yards per carry with four touchdowns.

In the previous offseason, the club decided to move on from Jacobs, who’d rushed for 805 yards in 2023, while he led the NFL in rushing the year before, racking up 1,653 yards on the ground. Jacobs signed a four-year deal with the Green Bay Packers in March 2024 and rushed for over 1,000 yards for the fourth time in his NFL career.

Jeanty led the NCAA Division 1 with 2,601 yards on the ground last season and was a Unanimous All-American. He finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

The Boise State product comes into a team that finished last in the AFC West last season (4-13) but with the expectation of rebounding under Pete Carroll.

Ashton Jeanty modelled part of his game after Pro Bowl running back

Coming to the Las Vegas Raiders seems like a perfect fit for Ashton Jeanty. The Jacksonville-born running back told USA Today on Thursday that he used to watch one big-name running back a lot.

“I take a lot of different things from different guys," Jeanty said. "But one of the first guys I really watched was Marshawn Lynch, crazy.”

Lynch played under Jeaty’s coach, Pete Carroll, with the Seattle Seahawks, accumulating four 1,000-yard seasons for them. The two won the Super Bowl together in the 2013 season.

Thanks in part to Lynch, the Seahawks were among the top rushing teams during their two trips to the Super Bowl in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Among Jeanty’s biggest strengths, according to NFL.com, are that he can thwart tacklers and keep his legs driving after contact, similar to what Lynch brought to the table.