Ashton Jeanty Preseason Performance Raises Concerns For The Raiders

Ashton Jeanty was drafted by the new regime that took control of the Las Vegas Raiders this offseason. General manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll opted to select a player that would jumpstart a run game that was dead in the water last season. Even though it was only the preseason opener, there should be some concern if you’re Sin City’s coaching staff.

Fans and the media will either downplay or exaggerate what goes on in the NFL preseason. A lot of that is due to the fact that the games don’t count. While technically true, these contests are used to gauge aspects of a team that can’t be replicated elsewhere (not even in practice).

Beat reporters well tell you about how “good” the offensive line has looked during training camp only to come out against another NFL team and be bullied around. You had legitimate starters out there for the Raiders along the trenches. Still, Jeanty just ran into walls.

Should Raiders fans be worried about any of this?

If you’re just looking at the box score, you’d notice that the Raiders simply couldn’t get it done. Sure, Dylan Laube looked strong later on during the game as he recorded 34 yards and was just shy of seven yards per rushing attempt (6.8). Unfortunately, Jeanty left the game with negative one yard on the ground. Had he not played at all, he would’ve literally had a better game with zero. Raheem Mostert, Jeanty’s partner and No. 2 running back, broke off an 11-yard run himself. So it wasn’t all doom and gloom.

Even knowing all of this, you can’t help but feel underwhelmed if you’re a Raiders fan. That’s especially true when you consider all of the rave reviews coming out of camp. Only for that to be followed up by Thursday’s performance. While some within Raider Nation are already waving the red flags and throwing around the term “bust” on social media, that might be premature.

What can’t be argued is that if you go back and see the tape, you’ll notice that the Raiders simply couldn’t open any holes. It was only a handful of snaps with Ashton Jeanty running the ball. Nonetheless, this is something that will be worth monitoring until Week 1.