Ashton Jeanty has been playing football a certain way for nearly his entire career, and it's kind of worked out for him.
He rushed for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns last season for Boise State and found himself selected No. 6 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2025 NFL Draft.
His running style, including his stance in the backfield, has led to great success. Now that he's in the NFL, though, long-time offensive mind and new Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly wants him to switch things up.
In a recent interview with Kay Adams, Jeanty revealed that Kelly is looking for something new out of the Raiders' rookie.
"You know, sometimes you have to, you know, go with the flow," Jeanty said of the idea of switching his stance (h/t ESPN)
CHIP KELLY MADE ASHTON JEANTY CHANGE HIS STANCE
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) May 19, 2025
(via @heykayadams)pic.twitter.com/SOT6fX6zCX
Jeanty has what has become known as the "Halloween" stance in the backfield. It's comfortable for him, but it's not like the stance traditionally used by running backs. Rather than being in a "two-point stance" with a slight lean forward, Jeanty stands straight up in the backfield with his hands at his side.
He looks like he's stalking his prey like Michael Myers from the "Halloween" movies, which is where the nickname behind the stance comes from.
Again, it's worked out for him so far, but Kelly knows a thing or two about offense. More than likely, Kelly is trying to induce more explosion out of Jeanty from his stance, because holes close so much faster in the NFL, where even 300-pound defensive linemen can run impressive 40-yard-dash times.
For now, Kelly, the veteran offensive mind, has won the battle. That doesn't mean Jeanty won't try to get his stance back in the future, though.
"I'm going to try and persuade him one day. I got to earn my stripes and make some plays first, but I don't think it's going to be the end [of the stance]," Jeanty said.
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