The Las Vegas Raiders selected Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, hoping to revitalize a running game that declined after All-Pro Josh Jacobs’ departure. Last season, the team ranked 28th in rushing touchdowns and finished last in both rushing yards and yards per attempt.
Jeanty, who was runner-up for the 2024 Heisman Trophy, had a slow start in his preseason debut with -1 rushing yard on three carries but rebounded with 33 yards and a touchdown in Week 2.
Before facing the San Francisco 49ers during the preseason, Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinee Marcus Allen spoke about Jeanty’s abilities in relation to Hall of Famer Barry Sanders. Speaking with Sean Zittel of Vegas Sports Today, Allen said: “He has a lot of the ability of Barry Sanders, but it would be unfair to put him in that category. But he has, certainly, the potential to put up those kind of numbers. He has a combination of great feet, power, speed and elusiveness, and he has great balance (…) Those are the things that Barry had, but Barry had a little extra maneuverability, if you will, but he’s right along. It would be unfair to put anybody in that category. It’s almost too much pressure, but in that direction of a Barry Sanders kind of running back.”
Allen played 11 years for the Raiders franchise as their all-time leader in rushing yards and touchdowns. He recorded 8,545 rushing yards and 79 touchdowns on 2,090 carries and added 4,258 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns on 446 receptions over his career. The tenth overall pick from the 1982 NFL Draft was named Offensive Rookie of the Year before earning Super Bowl MVP honors one year later. In addition to winning NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year awards in 1985, Allen remains the only player to have won an NFL MVP award, Super Bowl MVP honor and Heisman Trophy.
During his final college football season at Boise State University, Jeanty was frequently compared to Sanders as he neared several longstanding records set by Sanders during his own Heisman Trophy-winning campaign. Jeanty ended his collegiate run with 2,601 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns on 374 carries as well as one receiving touchdown—totals that gave him second-most single-season rushing yards behind Sanders’ marks from 1988.
The Raiders hope Jeanty can develop into an impactful running back following examples set by some of professional football’s most successful players at this position.
