What the Raiders Need from Ashton Jeanty vs. Chargers

In Week 1, the Las Vegas Raiders struggled to run the ball, as they did last season. However, there were several reasons the Raiders struggled on the ground last week that should not be the case Monday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Raiders' Rare Talent

Las Vegas added Jeanty to help their ground game excel. However, Week 1 was tough sledding. Still, the Raiders know it is far too early to panic. Prior to practice earlier this week, Raiders Offensive Coordinator Chip Kelly explained what makes Jeanty unique.

"Yeah, the one thing you love about him, especially his touchdown run, it's kind of just typifies Ashton [Jeanty]. He is a tough, hard-nosed, physical runner that is very difficult to bring down with the first guy. And I think after playing one game, and he's getting a feel for kind of how this league is. It's obviously different than playing in the Mountain West. But I thought for the first time out, I think the thing I really liked about Ashton was just his physicality with the football," Kelly said.

Kelly explained that although Jeanty did not rush for many yards against the Patriots last week, that the rookie running back did help in several other ways. Most notably, Jeanty's pass blocking was exceptional in Week 1.

There were several times Jeanty's block gave quarterback Geno Smith some extra time to get the pass off. Jeanty's rushing stats were not great, but his blocking was.

"Yeah, and you've got to be able to pick up in pass pro and he did a nice job of that too, for his first time in a game. We do it all the time in practice, but practice is a lot different than it is in the game. And then that whole entire first group did not play a ton of snaps in the preseason, and that was by design. You don't want to lose a guy," Kelly said.

"If you lost a guy, there's that fine line of, ‘How many reps do they need to be ready?’ And then you lost a guy in the preseason, like, ‘What the heck are you playing him for?’ And we always talk about it as a staff, how many snaps is the right amount? But for it to be live and he played 54 snaps in his first game. Maybe a little high in his first game, to be honest with you. But I thought he did a really nice job overall in the entire game."