Raiders' Klint Kubiak has a plan for Ashton Jeanty

While the Las Vegas Raiders don't want to put much pressure on rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza, they seem more than ready to throw their young running back into the fire.

Ashton Jeanty showed glimpses of strong play in his first season, but like the rest of the team, he struggled to get much going on Chip Kelly's offense. Now, with Klint Kubiak leading the way, he might be in for a breakout campaign.

At the very least, he'll be on the field as early and often as possible, with coach Kubiak claiming he wants to give him a Christian McCaffrey-type usage.

The Raiders offense will run through Ashton Jeanty

“We want to put a lot of pressure on Ashton,” Kubiak said, per the team's website. “The next guy that steps up, whoever that may be, that's going to be seen here in practice, OTAs, and training camp, but we think we should continue to challenge Ashton and get more out of him.”

While he wants the Raiders to feature more than one running back to keep the Boise State product healthy, he's also looking forward to having Jeanty in the backfield as many times per game as he can handle.

“It's important to have a quality second back, but the best player has got to play, and we've got to get them on the field as much as we can,” Kubiak added. “You look at [49ers running back] Christian McCaffrey, his play-snap percentage is high. So, those great backs, they don't want to come off the field.”

That's great news for his fantasy football managers, but enduring that type of wear and tear will be way easier said than done. McCaffrey has dealt with multiple injuries for most of his career, and while that doesn't necessarily mean Jeanty will suffer the same fate, it's definitely something to keep an eye on.

Jeanty had one of the single greatest seasons in college football history before the Raiders took him with the No. 6 pick last season, and he has the physical tools to be a difference-maker at the next level.

That's also why his rookie season felt somewhat underwhelming, even though he still led all rookies with 975 rushing yards and five touchdowns and totaled 1,321 yards from scrimmage and 10 scores. The bar is high, and it'll be up to him to prove that he can handle that responsibility.