The Las Vegas Raiders, with Tom Brady and Pete Carroll in the building to help make decisions, made the bold move to select former Boise State Broncos star running back Ashton Jeanty overall with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Jeanty will make his NFL debut on Sunday against the New England Patriots, and he knows that there are heavy expectations on his shoulders, but he’s embracing the opportunity in front of him.
“They let me know every single day that I’m the guy,” Jeanty said in an Interview with GQ’s Adam Caparell. “They’re counting on me to do some special things in this offense.”
Jeanty knows that his physical running style is a big part of what the Raiders are counting on.
“I don’t really shy away from contact, and once I make my read, I get north and south quickly. If you’re in the way, that’s your fault,” he said. “Everybody doesn’t like that. I don’t know why I like it. Maybe I’m a little bit psychotic.”
Jeanty also touched on entering the league at a time when NFL defenses are focusing so heavily on stopping the run that running backs are reemerging as the focal points of offenses.
“Saquon’s done a great job at putting great things on display for the running back position and showing our value to the team by winning the biggest game possible,” Jeanty said. “Not only that, there’s so many other great guys [at the position] like Christian McCaffrey, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs. Me getting drafted as high as I did showed the value is coming back.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Sunday goes for Jeanty and the Raiders.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.