As a rookie in 2025, Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty finished as the RB13 despite averaging only 3.7 yards per carry while working behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league. With left tackle Kolton Miller expected back at full health after playing in only four games last season and the team spending big to acquire free agent center Tyler Linderbaum, Jeanty should see a drastic improvement from the abysmal 0.6 yards before contact that he averaged on his 2025 carries. And while new head coach Klint Kubiak spent much of the early offseason espousing the values of a split backfield, the team's actions have done little to suggest that Jeanty's fantasy-friendly volume is in any real jeopardy. The team spent a Day 3 pick on running back Mike Washington Jr., and Vegas does not have a wide receiver on the roster who has ever caught more than 57 passes in a season. For reference, Jeanty caught 55 of his 68 targets as a rookie, and with only tight end Brock Bowers locked in for a healthy pass-catching role ahead of him, he could threaten for triple-digit targets in year two. With better cohesion in 2026, the Raiders offense has the potential to rise to a level just around league-average, and in such a scenario, Jeanty has the bell cow abilities to deliver a league-winning season as RotoBaller's RB7
There are a lot of ways new Las Vegas Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak can impact the offense as their new playcaller. Helping get 2025 first-round pick, running back Ashton Jeanty is one of them. The Raiders drafted Jeanty to bring explosive plays to the offense. It didn’t work last year. According to a recent X post by NFL analyst Ian Hartitz, the Raiders had just four rushes of 20 or more yards last season. It was tied for the fifth fewest in the league. Meanwhile, the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks , where Kubiak was the offensive coordinator, had 16 such runs, which was second in the NFL. Here is the list: Perhaps with Kubiak’s scheme and improved offensive line play, Jeanty and rookie speedster tailback Mike Washington can help increase the explosive runs in Las Vegas in 2026. In other Raiders’ news: All-PFF teams: PFF looks at the best players on each team in the past 20 years. D-line pre: The Raiders’ website previews their 2026 defensive line. Sign up for a user account and get: Fewer ads Create community posts Comment on articles, community posts Rec comments, community posts New, improved notifications system!
Understandably, the focus of the Las Vegas Raiders’ 2026 rookie draft class is on No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Fernando Mendoza and when he may take over as the starter. However, there are also other members of the Raiders’ draft class who have a chance to play a lot this season and start a lot of games. Among those players include second-round pick, defensive back Treydan Stukes, third-round pick, offensive lineman Trey Zuhn, fourth-round pick, Jermod McCoy and fifth-round pick Zeke Masses. Other rookies such as third-round pick, pass rusher Keyron Crawford, fourth-round pick, running back Mike Washington and sixth-round pick, wide receiver Malik Benson all have a chance to play a lot but more be more role and rotational players. So, we want to know, which Raiders’ draft pick do you think will start the most games this season. The choices are going to be Mendoza, Stukes, Zuhn, McCoy (who has a chance to play a lot if he is healthy) and Masses, who was getting some run with the first-team defense in the mandatory minicamp. Sign up for a user account and get: Fewer ads Create community posts Comment on articles, community posts Rec comments, community posts New, improved notifications system!
The Las Vegas Raiders added Ashton Jeanty and Mike Washington Jr. to their backfield, creating a potential one-two punch. While both backs have shown a preference for gap schemes, head coach Klint Kubiak's zone-heavy system may adapt, with Jeanty potentially handling outside zone concepts and Washington serving as the downhill runner
Last year, the Las Vegas Raiders struggled to create explosive plays. According to Sharp Football Analysis, the Raiders ranked 29th in explosive play rate, which is awful for an NFL offense. Enter young head coach Klint Kubiak, who led a Seattle Seahawks offense that was fourth in explosive play rate after the 2025 season. The big-play offense Kubiak deployed helped the Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl in 2025. With his offensive mentality built around chunk gains in the running and passing game, Kubiak and John Spytek went to work adding players who could help in that department. In the running game, they drafted Mike Washington Jr out of Arkansas to match with Ashton Jeanty . In the passing game, Jalon Nailor was the free agent to help in that department, and they drafted Malik Benson out of Oregon in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL draft. Benson ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, displaying his ability to win over the top of a defense. He was one of the main deep threats for the Ducks last season, averaging 16.7 and leading the team in receiving yards with 719. With an open receiver room, Benson’s hands and return ability give him a good opportunity to make the football team. Besides his blazing speed, one thing that stands out about Malik Benson is his hands. He had one drop last season and a drop rate of 2.3% according to PFF. Benson catches everything that is thrown his way. The perfect example is the play below, where he gets a back shoulder on a slot fade from QB Dante Moore . The former Oregon Duck does a great job of tracking the football in the air and makes a toe-drag swag catch using pure hands along the sideline. Here is another example of Benson exhibiting his great hands. In this play against Washington , he is running a dig route over the middle of the field against a zone defense. At the top of his route, Benson stops expecting the pass to hit him between the zone, but the ball is a little ahead of him. He stretches out and grabs the pass out of the air and then uses his YAC ability to finish off the play with a touchdown. Of course, what he truly brings to the table is that he is a serious threat to the Raiders’ offense. He had a big game against James Madison with two touchdowns of over 50 yards. The first one displays how he can just use his pure speed to win over the top. Benson doesn’t use much nuance on the route and just runs past the defender for six and a huge play for the Oregon offense. With a team looking for huge plays from their offense, Benson is the perfect fit for the new look offense. While he might have to earn his stripes returning kicks for the Raiders, he could become a contributor on offense later on in the season
Even after making 10 selections during the 2026 NFL draft , general manager John Spytek was busy adding 17 undrafted free agents to the roster. Of course, the Raiders are a long way away from having to settle in on a 53-man roster , but let’s take an early look at a few UDFAs who have a good chance to make the cut, considering who is in front of them on the depth chart. Wide receiver is one of the biggest remaining holes on Las Vegas’ roster after the draft. Many expected the club to prioritize the position, but Spytek didn’t add a wideout until the sixth round (Malik Benson). That gives any receiver on the roster a fighter’s chance to make the team during training camp, especially a UDFA who caught passes from Fernando Mendoza last season. Williams managed to haul in 36 receptions for 438 yards and six touchdowns last season, and the 6-foot-3, 205-pound receiver has the frame to fill the void at ‘X’ potentially. Along the same lines, Roberts stands at 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds. He doesn’t have the immediate chemistry with Mendoza, but the BYU product is the better prospect and was more productive than Williams, giving him a leg up if the competition is between the two of them. Roberts had 54 grabs, 802 yards and six touchdowns for the Cougars last season. Another former Hoosier who could find a home in Las Vegas. Hemby toted the rock 230 times and racked up 1,118 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns to be the National Champions’ leading rusher, ahead of San Francisco 49ers ’ third-round pick Kaelon Black. Meanwhile, the Raiders have their first two backs in the fold with Ashton Jeanty and fourth-round pick Mike Washington Jr., but the third spot is very much up for grabs. Hemby will have to beat out Dylan Laube and Chris Collier , and special teams could be the deciding factor, especially since Laube can contribute as a returner. The Indiana product doesn’t have much return experience, but he did return 16 kickoffs in college, including nine last season. Defensively, one of the biggest surprises from the Raiders’ draft was that they didn’t prioritize adding a nose tackle, as Spytek didn’t take a defensive tackle until his last pick of the draft (Brandon Cleveland). That’s good news for Smith, who ranked fourth among Big Ten defensive tackles with an 82.3 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus last season. The 6-foot-1, 323-pound d-lineman also finished third with 24 “ defensive stops ” against the run in 2025. The front office moved on from Daniel Carlson this offseason, replacing Carlson with Matt Gay during free agency. However, Gay made just 73.9 percent of his field goal attempts last season and was in the low 80s during the 2024 and 2023 campaigns. That leaves the door open for Matsuzawa, who hit 93.1 percent of his field goals this past fall. Plus, an elite nickname like ‘The Tokoyo Toe’ has to count for something, right?
The Las Vegas Raiders saw around league average production from their rookie class last season, largely because of a struggle to see the field, or the team deciding to play aging veterans over them. 2025 saw Las Vegas select 11 rookies, and most took snaps for Las Vegas last season. With a roster seeing a large amount of turnover due to new coaches, the opportunities for some “sophomores” to take a jump & see more playtime is very likely. RB Ashton Jeanty : Starting RB 2025: 17 Games (770 snaps) | 266 attempts, 975 yards (3.7 ypc), 5 TD, 55 rec, 346 yards, 5 TD, 81 forced missed tackles Jeanty, who turns 23 in December, is the Raiders clear cut starting runningback. While his production doesn’t pop off the charts, largely due to a very poor YPC he did add 10 total touchdowns, ranked 2nd among all runningbacks in forced missed tackles, 5th in breakaway rate, 6th in elusiveness, and 1st in yards after contact/attempt at 3.06 yards. The Raiders OL ranked 32nd in run blocking among basically every single metric, and almost broke the NFL record for YPC before contact at 0.17 (record is 0.14). As a team they ranked 22nd in rushing EPA, largely in part to Jeanty alone, and not the OL or schematics. Jeanty will see an improved OL in 2026, who added Tyler Linderbaum and is likely getting Jackson Powers-Johnson & Kolton Miller back from season ending injuries. Jeanty will have a rotation with 4th rounder Mike Washington, but he’s still the clear cut starter. WR Jack Bech: Starting WR 2025: 16 games (344 snaps) | 20 rec, 224 yards, 3.5 YAC/reception, 55.6% contested catch (5/9), 4.8% drop rate Bech saw his production go up and down across the season, he logged a 23 yar reception in week one vs the Patriots in 4 snaps. Bech played nearly 60% of his snaps from week 13-18 after the team traded Jakobi Meyers , but he also saw snaps and targets taken away for Tyler Lockett . Bech finished his season with 6 receptions for 50 yards in week 14, 17 yards in week 15, and 43 yards in week 16. Bech did flash his route running, he ranked highly in separation for rookies (5th in the NFL), and Bech also had numerous moments where he was able to find space, and was either missed, not targeted, or Geno Smith was sacked. Bech is likely starting opposite of Tre Tucker , with Jalen Nailor in the slot. Bech works well in the 0-14 range, though he does have downfield speed ability. Bech has a good frame at 6’2/215, wins contested catches, and he’s a YAC specialist. He’s just 23, the room for development is still very high and Bech should see a decent volume of targets in 2026, but he’ll need to produce with those. CB Darien Porter: Competition for Starting CB 2025: 17 games (607 snaps) | 42 tackles, 6 PBU, 16% missed tackle rate, 61% reception rate (19/31), 256 yards, 87.6 QBR allowed The Raiders didnt’ see Porter take a snap in week 1 or two, and he was largely a rotational player till week 14 when a torn ACL by Kyu Blu Kelly positioned Porter as the starter. Porter has the size and athleticism to be a high end starting CB in the NFL. He’s a little awkward at times, just given his size and lack of experience at CB. He’s 25 years old, posted a 9.99 RAS, and stands 6’4/200. Porter desperately will need to clean up his run defense, where he was a liability at times, getting out of position, taking poor angles, or having poor form. In coverage, Porter flashed his traits, with good zone instincts, he broke on the ball well, showed an ability to snap off coverages, played physical, and his lower body was extremely fluid. Porter is raw, even at 25 years old, but the Raiders are likely to roll into the season with Porter as the starter, or a high end 3rd corner if Jermod McCoy takes the starting spot opposite of Eric Stokes . Porter showed to be a consistent cornerback, he wasn’t targeted often, and also ranked top 5 among rookie DBs in EPA/target & separation allowed. IOL Caleb Rogers : Competition for Starting G 2025: 6 games (284 snaps) | 179 PBLK snaps, 3
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Washington is one of the most notable size-speed specimens to ever step into the NFL, as the 6-foot-1, 223-pound runner logged a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. The issue is that it's not obvious whether he has much else going for him as a running back prospect. Washington most recently played for Arkansas in 2025, but before that he spent one year at New Mexico State and three years at Buffalo. In those first four years Washington averaged only 4.39 yards per carry -- plainly below NFL-caliber production, especially for the level of competition -- and by the end of his Buffalo career he had been benched for non-prospect Ron Cook. He was also outplayed at New Mexico State by seventh-round pick rookie Seth McGowan. Outrageously fast and strong as he might be, Washington's poor production implies some number of hitches, be it related to movement or processing, or both. Dubious as Washington's rushing production was in college, his pass-catching production was much worse, catching just 73 receptions for 470 yards and three touchdowns on 117 targets (62.3-percent catch rate, 4.0 YPT). Throw in Washington's fumbling issues (11 in the last two years) and it sure seems like Washington needs a lot of polish before he'll be a viable NFL back. Undrafted fellow rookie Roman Hemby was the better player in college and might be more polished in the meantime, if only for the short term
