The 1 Thing Raiders Rookie RB Ashton Jeanty Needs

The Las Vegas Raiders' ground game is off to yet another slow start on the season. This is the case even after drafting running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Jeanty Sounds Off

The Raiders added Jeanty hoping his impact would be immediate, but that has not been the case so far. After a quiet Week 1 which Jeanty rushed for 38 yards on 19 carries, Jeanty finished Week 2 with 43 yards on 11 carries. Prior to Wednesday's practice

“I don't think you draft a guy like me to not give me carries and touches and I'm ready for the responsibility. And like I said, it's going to start with me in the run game, and I've got to continue to get better," Jeanty said.

Jeanty has yet to make much of an impact on the stat sheet but is eager to do so. He explained what the most significant adjustment has been. Las Vegas needs Jeanty to breakthrough soon. They must also give him more to work with.

‘I'd probably just say picking up on the playbook. I mean, all the plays, we've got tons of different footworks and stuff like that. Just every single detail, every play, and that's on me to study those and take the next step at memorizing everything and knowing that playbook like the back of my hand. And then just game speed, but I'm getting more used to it," Jeanty said.

Raiders quarterback Geno Smith seemed to agree with Jeanty. On Wednesday before practice, Smith expressed his belief that the Raiders' offense is a significant part of the team's success.

“I mean, the more we can get touches to our backs, to Ashton [Jeanty], to Zamir [White], the better we're going to be as an offense. Those guys are our playmakers; they do well in space. As you can see, Ashton is out there running guys over,” Smith said. 

“He's bouncing off the tackles, and so is Zamir. And so, yeah, we have to remain balanced. We have to get those guys the ball in space, whether that's in the run game or the passing game, and that's something that we're working on. Again, man, it's early. Don't want to overreact to anything. There's a long season ahead of us. But yeah, we got to get the balance going.”