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Mark Davis Breaks Silence on Raiders' Ashton Jeanty Addition

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Austin C. Boyd | Last updated May 21, 2025 1:03 PM ET

The Las Vegas Raiders made a rare move in the 2025 NFL Draft when they selected Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 pick. It was the first time a team took a running back in the top six of the draft since Saquon Barkley in 2018.

Owner Mark Davis is not known to be overly involved in the day-to-day football operations of the franchise, and he may be even less involved now that Tom Brady is part of ownership.

Regardless, he just wants to win and field an exciting product in Las Vegas. He's mostly been quiet about the Raiders' draft class, but he finally gave his thoughts on Jeanty in a Q&A with Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“I think he’s a wonderful young man," Davis said of Jeanty. "I really do. We’ll see how it goes, but I think he’s a special player.”

The Raiders have employed some of the best running backs in NFL history, but had the worst rushing offense in the NFL last season. Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards as a junior, so it's safe to say he'll be a significant upgrade for the team.

Davis also had a chance to discuss his first draft with general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll.

“I’ve been in a lot of draft rooms, and I’ve seen different ways of going about it," Davis said. "I’ve seen drafts that nobody really expected to be great that turned out to be really good. And I’ve seen guys who were drafted who were expected to be great, who weren’t. So, again, it’s results. But it is exciting. We’ve got some really, really interesting players. Young guys that I think can play. But until there are results, it’s just optimism.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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