Raiders fans have theory for Ashton Jeanty’s lackluster debut

Thursday night was a debut to forget for Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

Drafted sixth overall back in April, most fans were hoping Jeanty would start off strong right out of the gates. Instead, the running back struggled with his lone three touches against the Seattle Seahawks, amassing a shocking -1 yard. The limited sample size at least halts some of the concerns, but no one expected Jeanty to start his professional career on such a low.

While it is hard to pinpoint where things went wrong for Jeanty in his debut, some Raiders fans have an idea as to what happened.

Fans believe the Raiders took Jeanty’s secret weapon away from him.

Watching Jeanty’s highlights at Boise State to his debut for the Raiders, the major difference between the two is his stance out of the backfield.

In college, Jeanty stood straight up out of the backfield, arms hanging down from his sides. Despite the effectiveness Jeanty showed with his unconventional stance, the Raiders and Chip Kelly sought to change it to a more traditional knee bend. Jeanty used the new stance against the Seahawks, and the results were not the most promising.

However, this is also the first game where Jeanty has used the new stance, so it makes sense for there to be an adjustment period.

While the stance change is noticeable, proclaiming it as the problem after just three carries is an overreaction. If the poor performance persists, however, it will become a more emphasized point of conversation. On the other hand, talking about it will become a moot point if Jeanty explodes for a few long runs in the next game.

Jeanty will get his opportunity at redemption on Aug. 16 against the San Francisco 49ers.