What happened to Ashton Jeanty’s rookie season?

Ashton Jeanty shrugged off a would-be tackler in the backfield and bounced outside, racing down the left sideline and stepping through another helpless defender on his way to a 64-yard touchdown.

It was a glimpse at the kind of generational talent the Raiders thought they were getting when they defied conventional wisdom to draft a running back at No. 6 in the 2025 NFL draft.

But it proved to be just a sneak peak.

That spectacular run against the Bears in Week 4 remains the only run of 20 or more yards all season for the Heisman Trophy runner-up.

There has been only one other run of at least 15 yards in what has been a disappointing statistical season for Jeanty, who rushed for 2,601 yards and carried Boise State to a College Football Playoff berth last season.

He entered the season as the betting favorite to win the offensive rookie of the year award with a rushing yards prop around 1,050 yards. He’s at 700 yards (3.5 yards per carry) with three games to play, starting with Sunday’s road matchup against the Houston Texans, who feature one of the league’s best defenses.

“I think obviously everybody has their certain expectations … but it hasn’t gone our way, my way, in certain ways,” Jeanty said. “But you’ve just got to continue to keep working and make the most of the opportunities we have left.”

What has gone wrong?

The easy answer — the one Raiders brass hopes is true — is that Jeanty is a generational talent who is stuck behind a terrible offensive line.

That his production is quite impressive considering the struggles behind the worst front five in the league, according to most metrics.

Jeanty has been stopped for a loss on 17 percent of his carries, by far the most of any starting running back.

He has gained 595 of his 700 yards after contact, according to Sumer Sports. He’s fourth in the league with 66 tackles avoided, behind only offensive player of the year candidates Bijan Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons, Jahmyr Gibbs of the Detroit Lions and Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts.

Matt Waldman, the creator of Rookie Scouting Portfolio, hasn’t seen anything on film this season that would shake him from his lofty opinion of Jeanty’s abilities.

“When I watch that film, I’ve seen a lot of mistakes on that offensive line,” Waldman said. “There’s been a lot of penetration into the backfield, a lot of open lanes for linebackers to be able to shoot through. Considering those things, he’s done a good job of either being able to mitigate losses or getting small gains in situations where other backs may have endured greater losses.

“It may not be what fans are expecting when you draft someone this high. They feel like that back better be Barry Sanders and be able to overcome those shortcomings. But nobody can do that except Barry Sanders.”

Make something happen

Those expectations came from the highlight-reel college tape and the high pick the organization invested in Jeanty.

While it might be unfair, it created a sense that Jeanty would single-handedly fix a broken offense.

Yet somehow, it got worse.

Jeanty admits he has been frustrated, but his confidence remains high. He also believes there have been yards he has left on the field

“I’ve missed some plays and just growing pains of being a rookie, getting used to the game speed,” he said. “But I don’t really even look at it that way. There might be more space one play, there might be less space on another. (You have to) take advantage of the opportunities.”

That’s the issue former Raider and current studio analyst James Jones expressed on the postgame show last week after a 31-0 road loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

He believes Jeanty has shown elusiveness and power in space, but the missing element is getting to that second level where he can take advantage of those traits.

“Of his nine attempts, there were probably five one-on-ones where the safety comes down and it’s just you and him,” Jones said. “You’ve got to make them miss at least half of those, and if you (do), then that’s an explosive run. I don’t know if he’s not in rhythm, not in a groove, doesn’t know the offensive line as well, but when all else fails, with you being drafted No. 6 overall, when we see one-on-one opportunities, we have yet to see him break those tackles in between the tackles. That’s where the explosive runs are going to come from.”

Reasons for optimism?

Some have been quick to pull out the bust label for Jeanty, but the numbers and tape don’t support such a rushed judgment.

Jeanty is just the ninth rookie running back in history with 700 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 40 receptions, 250 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns.

He joined an exclusive group of Robinson, Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara, Matt Forte and Edgerrin James as the only players to have such a debut since 1983.

He has also developed in ways that don’t necessarily show up in the box score.

“He’s got all kinds of plays where he’s shown the depth and foot quickness that he has, his ability to get underneath tacklers and blast through and break tackles and make yards after contact,” coach Pete Carroll said. “He’s shown the burst to get out and score when he gets his chances, and he’s caught the ball really well for the most part. He’s pass protected well, too. He’s done his job. We have to give him more opportunities and more space.”

Right tackle DJ Glaze accepts some of the responsibility to make sure that happens.

“We know when he gets space or he gets a hole, he hits it,” Glaze said. “He can take it to the house or run people over. So we see flashes, but we have to find the consistency. We know we haven’t lived up to our standard (on the line).”

Waldman still believes Jeanty has star potential.

“You still see the thought process, the movement skills, the ability to process and make decisions and the contact balance,” he said. “Jeanty has all that. He just doesn’t have creases. But at the end of the day, you still see enough to say what’s probably going to happen when he sees those creases.”

Waldman added: “I would just tell fans to be patient and hope the Raiders value getting offensive linemen this offseason.”

Jeanty said he won’t evaluate his rookie season on numbers.

“I measure it by how I come to work, how I practice,” he said. “And I work hard every week. Maybe I don’t get the results that I want from a stat standpoint, but I think it’s all about how I continue to get better, and what I do next.”