Ashton Jeanty hasn’t had the dominant start to his NFL career that he was likely hoping for. The Las Vegas Raiders‘ first-round pick is only averaging 3.1 yards per carry in three games.
Considering he almost broke Barry Sanders’ record for most rushing yards in a single college football season, expectations were much higher for him as a rookie. The Chicago Bears were one of the teams linked to Jeanty before the draft.
The Raiders ended up selecting him before they had a chance to, but head coach Ben Johnson was very high on Jeanty coming out of Boise State.
“He’s a phenomenal player,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “I thought the world of him. He’s a hard guy to bring down, compact yet powerful. You better have low pad level when you’re looking to tackle this guy or else he’s going to lower his shoulder and run you over. He’s got that mentality, he brought it with him from college. You see it in the first three games of the season so far. He’s fearless, he sees a little bit of air, he steps on the gas, and he plays violently. So he’s a guy we’re certainly aware of and we’ve got to do the best we can to bottle him up.”
This Could be Breakout Week for Jeanty
Johnson clearly isn’t going to underestimate Jeanty heading into Week 4, but does he have the defense to stop the young running back? The Bears are allowing 139.3 rushing yards per game this season, which is 26th in the NFL.
They don’t have a great defensive line, so there should be some holes opened for Jeanty. Now, the Raiders’ offensive line is playing very poorly. There’s no guarantee they’ll have any more success against the Bears than they have the last three games.
Geno Smith Not Concerned About Jeanty
Some in the media are already out on Jeanty, but he’s only three games into his career. The Raiders’ offensive line also hasn’t done him any favors.
Quarterback Geno Smith isn’t concerned with where Jeanty’s at and is still very high on his potential.
“I think he’s right where he needs to be, man,” Smith told reporters Wednesday. “I think we have to help him, I mean, it’s my job to help him. I hate that obviously he’s going to put a lot of pressure on himself, but he’s not out there alone. It’s 10 other guys out there that have got to do their jobs and help him. And so, I take great responsibility in making sure that Ashton [Jeanty] is, first of all, in the right headspace, which he is.
“And also, he’s got the ability to go out there and make plays. And so, I’ve got to make checks, put him in position to go out there and make plays. I’ve got to do a better job to make sure that he’s out there showing us what he can do. Because when he gets an open field, man, he’s hard to stop. So, we’ve just got to get him into some more space and allow him to do his thing.”
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