As Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said recently, the 5-foot-8, 208-pound Jeanty may be short, but he’s not small.
And Jeanty’s stick-and-gallop on Lenoir also caught the attention of the Raiders defense.
“Ashton is a top 10 pick for a reason, so getting to see him get a little more breathing room in the backfield was awesome,” defensive end Maxx Crosby said. “He definitely runs the ball with an emphasis, for sure. It was a hell of a run, and you just see him every day show up and get better. I love what that kid’s doing.
“The way he runs the ball, he’s so compact and strong and twitchy in the hole. That’s why he had so much success with Boise State, so we’re really excited about him and we’re looking forward to him being a big part of what we’re doing.”
Jeanty, who had -1 yard on three carries in one series last week in Seattle, finished with a game-high 33 yards on seven attempts in a pair of possessions against the Niners.
In fact, Jeanty felt right at home at Allegiant Stadium. Twice in college he played here for Boise State, against UNLV, and rushed for a combined 281 yards and two TDs on 54 carries in those games.
But that was on the Rebels’ artificial turf field, some four feet below the Raiders’ sliding grass tray.
Playing on the Raiders’ natural surface felt like, well, the NFL. Even as his mentality of setting “the tone early in a game” remained the same.
“You know, it takes time as a rookie to kind of gain that confidence [of], ‘I’m here, I’ve arrived,'” Jeanty said. “It’s time to keep going and make plays for this team.”
Sounds like a plan to get excited about, preseason or not.
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