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Ashtony Jeanty predicted to lose Rookie of the Year to one of his fiercest rivals and he surely won't like it

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Justin Churchill | Last updated May 27, 2025 2:53 PM ET

When the Las Vegas Raiders decided to take Ashton Jeanty No. 6 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, it was because of a combination of things. Obviously, he was spectacular in college, but the Raiders desperately needed to fix their run game.

Look at last season's running back room, the Raiders started and ended the season with. It wasn't very good, and I think most people knew that before the season started, but were hoping that the offensive line and scheme would be good enough to get an average run game out of the Raiders. Instead, they ended up with a historically bad run game.

So, yes, they took the former Boise State Bronco, and they did so with the intention of giving him the ball a ton as a rookie. Pete Carroll, the former Seattle Seahawks head coach, has built a ton of success in the NFL as a head coach by relying on his defense and run game, which sets up the play-action passing.

Expect the same from the Raiders in 2025, which could lead to Jeanty having a big season as a rookie -- maybe even Offensive Rookie of the Year? Well, that would be the logical pick, unless you're once again falling for the Los Angeles Chargers propaganda every single year, like Ben Solak of ESPN is.

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Omarion Hampton will win Offensive Rookie of the Year. I think he will quickly out-touch Najee Harris, and I believe the Chargers want to return to a more run-heavy approach after turning pass-heavy out of necessity late last season. He'll outproduce fellow first-rounder Ashton Jeanty, too. I see a 1,200-rushing-yard season incoming. - Ben Solak, ESPN

Every single year, we hear about how the Chargers will finally win the AFC West, just to be destroyed by the Kansas City Chiefs every single year, just like the rest of the AFC West. Every single year, we hear about Justin Herbert finally taking a huge step and becoming an MVP-type of player, when the guy continues to play his worst football when the lights are brightest -- see wild card games against the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars for prime examples.

And now, it's that they will have the Offensive Rookie of the Year, why? Is it because Jim Harbaugh will run the ball a ton? Okay, so will the Raiders. It's certainly not because of the offensive line, because they were terrible last year, and are only going to be a question mark going into this season. The pass game could be bad enough with little to no weapons, so that the Chargers can't get a decent run game going every game.

But hey, this is just more fuel to the fire for Jeanty to use.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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