With the 6th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Ashton Jeanty, the running back from Boise State. Over the past decade, the NFL had leaned away from drafting running backs that high in the pass-driven modern game, but last season saw a reemergence of the position. Jeanty was universally viewed as one of the top five players in this draft class. Now, he’s coming to the AFC West, and the Chiefs will have to be ready to stop him.
In a loaded 2025 running back class, Ashton Jeanty was the cream of the crop—seen as a generational talent at the position. Jeanty rushed for an insane 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns last season. That’s not a typo. Those aren’t his career numbers—he cleared 2,600 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns in just 14 games.
The Las Vegas Raiders brought a generational running back talent to the AFC West.
Jeanty did what he did with a mix of amazing vision, even more impressive contact balance, and enough burst and speed to punish defenses when he breaks tackles or finds open space. It’s no surprise the Raiders were interested; they even hinted at it before the draft.
The Raiders brought Pete Carroll in this offseason to get their long-struggling train back on the tracks. Carroll is an old-school coach who wants to run the football and play defense. It’s yet to be seen if he’ll get the Raiders’ defense on track, but he just took a major step toward building the running game he covets. Marshawn Lynch was the driving force during Carroll’s Super Bowl runs in Seattle, and now he has a back who could be just as hard to stop in Las Vegas.
The Chiefs have found ways to stop top running backs in the past, so I don't think Chiefs fans should be ready to forfeit the AFC West just yet. But Steve Spagnuolo and Nick Bolton are definitely going to have to change their game plan from when they were facing Zamir White and Sincere McCormick last season. A stout defensive tackle to start next to Chris Jones would be an even more understandable pick at some point in this draft.