Raiders OC Chip Kelly praises rookie Ashton Jeanty

During organized team activities, Jeanty is reportedly turning heads among teammates. Just ask quarterback Geno Smith, who told reporters, "he's so wise beyond his years." During OTAs, Jeanty is breaking through tackles, even though it is not padded. Jeanty is showing the Raiders what he can bring to the offense. There are other areas he still needs to work on, such as catching passes that he hardly did at Boise State last season (23 receptions for 138 yards, TD).

Kelly dismissed the competition Jeanty faced in the Mountain West Conference. He saw enough when Boise State faced pass rusher and the New York Giants' third-overall pick Abdul Carter and Penn State in the college football playoffs.

"It was like 35 missed tackles he created in the Penn State game," Kelly said.

Which is probably one of the reasons why Raiders general manager John Spytek made Jeanty the sixth overall selection. After all, the Raiders struggled running the ball, finishing with a league-worst 3.6 yards per attempt. The Raiders are counting on Jeanty to change that this season, and there is a good chance that could happen since he wants the ball often. Per ESPN's Mike Clay, he projects Jeanty to finish with 241 carries for 1,108 yards and seven touchdowns and 410 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

That is not bad considering Jeanty will be the featured back. Will that add to wins? It is unclear, but the numbers Clay posted is a good gauge of what to expect from their potential star RB in the 2025 NFL season.