Copyright Athlon Sports
When the Las Vegas Raiders selected Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 draft, they obviously wanted Jeanty to be the epicenter of their offense. So far, Jeanty has had more than his share of explosive moments, and he’s gained 445 rushing yards with three touchdowns on 111 carries, with 26 forced missed tackles and three runs of 15 or more yards. Add in his 15 receptions on 19 targets for 86 yards and two touchdowns, as well as his pride in being a great pass-blocker, and you can see the building blocks of a franchise back coming together. Recently, Athlon Sports’ Doug Farrar spoke with Jeanty about the triumphs and challenges of his rookie campaign to date on behalf of Applebee’s, the Official Grill + Bar Sponsor of the NFL. Jeanty, Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, and Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud are helping Applebee’s promote their new Ultimate Trio, which lets fans mix and match three appetizers with three sauces for only $14.99. Before we got into the football stuff and a little tape-watching, we figured it was good to begin at the beginning. Doug Farrar: Ashton, let’s start there. Applebee’s has a new ultimate trio offering. What can you tell us about that? Ashton Jeanty: Yeah, it’s great. You know, I like to mix it up with my own thing. I get the crispy pickled fries, boneless wings, chicken wonton tacos, and I gotta have the right sauce. So, I get the Mexi ranch and the chipotle lime sauce. It might sound crazy, but it’s good. You gotta go try it. DF: Yeah, you piqued my interest at chicken wonton tacos. I might be all over that. So, you are not the first running back coached by Pete Carroll who once played for the Raiders and loves Applebee’s. There’s also that Marshawn Lynch guy who professed his affiliation for Applebee’s in an ESPN segment with Kenny Mayne back in his rookie season of 2007. I’m wondering if you and Marshawn have spoken about your mutual Applebee’s thing, and which do you like better, the decor or the ambiance? Because Marshawn was not really sure which he liked best. AJ: You know, that’s funny. We have talked a lot, but that’s one thing we’ve never talked about. I say I like the decor better. DF: Tell me about your dog there. AJ: Oh, yeah. Coco. Yeah, I’m watching her right now, and she’s a German Wirehaired Pointer girl, so she’s European. DF: I’m guessing she also knows she’s on video and she’s photobombing the whole thing, which is completely awesome. AJ: Most definitely. She loves the camera time. DF: So, when I studied your tape pre-draft, my NFL comp for you was Bijan Robinson. And during Super Bowl week in New Orleans, I got to ask Bijan about that comparison and he readily agreed. He said that he’d already watched two or three of your games from Boise State on tape. Here’s what he said about you and your style and how it compared to his. “Yeah, absolutely,” Robinson said of the comparison. “I mean, I think how he breaks tackles, and how he can continue to move forward as he’s breaking tackles, is something that’s special. Like, a lot of guys just can’t do that. It’s more like… [you] break a tackle and get tackled, or you’re trying to break a tackle and you’re not going fast enough. “But with him, he just shows so much of that ability, and I can’t wait to see what he can do with it in the NFL.” What are your thoughts on that, that a guy at Bijan Robinson’s level was already talking about you before you even went to the combine? AJ: Yeah, I mean, uh, that’s great to hear. I mean, he speaks volumes, obviously makes me feel good as a running back. You know, Bijan, he’s balling right now. I’ve been watching him since he was in college, you know. I was a freshman watching him tear it up at Texas. I’ve talked with him a little bit, sent texts here and there, and he’s a great guy beyond what he does on the field. DF: Oh, so you guys have connected. That’s, that’s really cool because he thought very highly of you. I mean, unprovoked, he said, yeah, I’ve watched his tape and he’s, so it’s also cool that a guy at his level is watching college running back tape. Means he’s into ball, which obviously shows up. So, the ability to break tackles, I wanted to ask you about that because it’s ridiculous. Last season with Boise State, you forced 152 missed tackles on 375 carries, which is the highest number going back in the history of that stat in the NCAA. This year in your rookie season in an offense that’s been kind of up and down, you’ve forced 26 missed tackles, which ranks fourth in the league behind only Bijan, who’s first, Jonathan Taylor and James Cook. How have you developed that obvious alpha skill, because it’s all over your tape and you’re not just eluding guys. You’re also looking for contact. What is it about that ability to have developed that? Because it’s beyond what most running backs ever have. AJ: Yeah, I think running through guys to me, that’s just trying to set the tone. I think everything works off that. I watch film on how guys tackle before every game. We study them. So, I know how I’m going to attack them. If somebody’s a more physical dude, I’m probably going to try to make him miss, where the less physical player, maybe like a cornerback, I’m definitely trying to run them over. A lot of it for sure is God-given, you know, abilities and talents, but it’s also preparation and studying. DF: I wanted to bring up your 64-yard touchdown run against the Chicago Bears in Week 4, where you showed great patience at the start of the play, and then you just started looking for war — missed tackle after missed tackle. Can you walk me through your process on that play and summarize what you were doing throughout. AJ: Yeah. We’re just running mid zone to the left. You know, the hard part is sometimes as a running back, you gotta be more patient, let your blocks develop, right? You know, I know I had a double-team block going up to the backer, but if I were to just kind of stick my head in there, it would have just been a three-yard run, four-yard run. That’s all it takes to make a difference. So, just that little hesitation, giving my time to move the double team and get up to the linebacker. And then once I get on the second and third level, you know, I just do what I do. DF: Are there other plays, maybe one or two others this season that have really stood out to you? Like, you got all you wanted out of this particular play, and walk me through those? AJ: Going back to my first game of the season versus the Patriots, [we were] getting blitzed a lot, so just being able to pick up blitzes and pass protection. As a rookie, they try to see what this guy’s really about. So I think just play after play being blitzed, and the main one for me — they had the corner blitz from both sides, and [Patriots cornerback] Carlton Davis, before the ball was snapped, he ran like down the line of scrimmage and then blitzed as soon as the ball was snapped. So I went and picked him up first, and then [quarterback] Geno [Smith] was able to throw the ball to [receiver] Jakobi Meyers, So I think that was a big time play right there. DF: I like that you brought up a block. That’s cool. Any other runs or catches that stand out? AJ: I really ain’t made no crazy plays like that yet, but, you know, there’ll be some more coming soon. DF: I wanted to ask you about the stance and its importance to you. I know at Boise State, you ran straight up at the snap pretty much all the time. And there was an adjustment period with that once you got to the Raiders where you were down [bent] a little bit. What are the specific advantages for you in that straight up running style? What do you see differently as opposed to when you’re bent over? AJ: I wouldn’t really say much is different. It’s just more of preference and comfortability. That’s just the way I like to stand. I can’t really tell you why it helps me so much, but it’s just one of those things that you have… you know, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’m just going to continue staying like that; I like that just gives me a sense of relaxation and calmness before the ball snaps, to be able to read everything up. DF: Like an eye-level thing where your eye level is the same all the time? So you’re not like adjusting when you get the ball or when you’re going to get the ball? AJ: I guess you could say that. I also like to just look at the whole defense, and I feel like I see it better [that way]. DF: [Raiders offensive coordinator] Chip Kelly said last week that you’re getting more and more comfortable in the offense. Do you feel that way? And how does that manifest itself? Because people talk about being more comfortable with the system on offense or defense, but what does that mean for you? And when your OC says that, I mean, how does that kind of validate how you feel? AJ: Yeah, I think obviously from him seeing what I do in practice, making certain plays, and bringing those to the game, making those plays on gameday, I definitely can feel it. It takes time, you know, working into a new scheme, obviously learning like the back of your hand, and then knowing what everybody else is doing. And then that’s when it goes to another level. DF: Obviously not the result you wanted against the Kansas City Chiefs [a 31-0 loss in Week 7. You’re working on a bye now. What has the bye week been line, and how has [head coach Pete Carroll] been with all his experience? How has he been with kind of keeping you guys upright and getting ready for the second half of the season? AJ: He’s been great. I don’t know if there’s anybody more positive and optimistic than Coach Pete. I love that about him. You know, that’s what really makes him easy to get behind and want to do better. We want to keep continuing to grow as a team. So he’s been doing a great job at keeping us all together, just letting us know that what happened, happened in the first half of the season. But we’ve got a chance to make a change and do better. Upstairs, they’re doing all the things to help us be better, but we are the ones ultimately that have to bring that to life. DF: Young players talk all the time about the adjustments they have to make to withstand the rigors of the NFL. Have there been those adjustments for you, or has it been more of an easier fit than maybe you expected? AJ: I think it’s more of an easier fit. I think the real adjustments are not really anything scheme-wise. To me, it’s just been the speed of the game. And also, your decision-making — you have to make [decisions] faster\, knowing exactly what you’re reading, what you’re looking for, and then making that right decision over and over again. DF: Have there been those “Welcome to the NFL” moments for you? You’ve played well, but most NFL players, when they come from the NCAA, they have those moments. AJ: Yeah. I would say my real welcome was really during training camp. [Raiders linebacker] Elandon Roberts]. He’s a thumper. He likes to hit. DF: Oh yeah. He’s a downhill guy. AJ: No question. He’s a downhill guy. He got me good in training camp, literally on the first day of padded practice. Since then, nothing like that. DF: Well, it’s good when your best tacklers are on your own team., so you don’t have to deal with it in games. Ashton, thanks so much for your time, and best of luck the rest of the season. We’ll hope to talk to you down the road, and our best to Coco.
