Jeanty Plays Chess While Everyone Else Plays Checkers

SEVEN CARRIES, ONE STATEMENT

Seven carries, 33 yards, and one touchdown. That’s not normally a stat line you’d write home about, but the stats don’t always tell the whole story. If you watched the game, you know that was exactly the kind of performance Ashton Jeanty needed to remind everyone who he is.

Ashton is used to looking like a freight train on game day. That’s what got him drafted sixth overall by the Raiders. But you know how it is, after one bad performance in this day and age, people lose their minds. After the preseason opener against Seattle, where he had three carries for -1 yards, I saw some people saying Ashton Jeanty was going to be the next Eddie Lacy. That’s wild. Pete might not have seen the Eddie Lacy comp, but he definitely understood the importance of that outing vs. the 49ers.

We may not have seen the physicality at that level in practice; they’re not going to hit their prized pick like that, but we’ve seen Ashton’s vision, contact balance, and quickness on display plenty throughout camp. His game is built on breaking tackles, though, and that’s hard to read in practice. He did it better than anyone in college football last year, a lot better. His 106 broken tackles in 2024 were 56 more than second place, and his 163 forced missed tackles beat out the guy in second place by 43. How did he manage to do that? By viewing the field of play like a board game.

He’s got an innate ability to do that, and we’re just a few weeks away from being able to see him do that in a game that actually matters. There are lofty expectations for him, but it’s clear he’s not shaken by any of that.

A lot of guys say stuff like that, but the way Ashton carries himself, it feels authentic. He doesn’t seem like a “normal” rookie. He’s used to the expectations and the eyeballs, and he’s ready to show the world what he can do.

MISS ANYTHING?

Catch up on some of our recent stories:

Raiders’ New Defensive Look + Anthony Richardson Trade on the Table?

Patrick Graham has been mixing in plenty of defensive looks at camp, but at Tuesday’s practice, one unique front stood out. In the latest episode of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast, I break down why that wrinkle could matter for the Raiders’ defense this season.

I also dive into the buzz around Anthony Richardson — could he actually be a trade target for the Raiders now that the Colts have turned to Daniel Jones? Plus, we hit on the cornerback battle opposite Eric Stokes, with thoughts on Kyu Blu Kelly and Darien Porter.

Tap into the pod play above for the full breakdown.

OBSERVATIONS FROM PRACTICE

• Kyu Blu Kelly just keeps making plays. During 1-on-1s today, the Raiders had their pass catchers work fade routes only. On one rep, Kelly matched up with Dont’e Thornton. He was stride for stride with Thornton, and Geno delivered a perfect ball to Thornton, but Kelly played it just as perfectly, punching right through Donte’s hands to force the incompletion.

• Speaking of Kyu, I also noticed him working as a nickelback with the threes late in practice. I haven’t seen that from him before. That’s something I’ll be keeping an eye on going forward.

• Thornton kind of had a rough day. During that 1-on-1 period, he seemed to tweak something in his left thigh. He kept practicing but struggled with a couple of deep passes and was visibly frustrated. Both Jakobi and Tre walked over to talk to him, but clearly, he wasn’t having a great day. He and Geno continued to work on their deep connection. It’s a work in progress. We saw them connect a bunch early on in camp, but lately it’s been a bit off.

• Elandon Roberts and Jamal Adams brought the boom yesterday. First, Roberts blasted Sincere McCormick in the hole on one play, and then later on, Adams crushed Ashton Jeanty after he caught a swing pass out of the backfield. I’ve got a feeling Jeanty will remember that one next time he sees 33 bearing down on him.

• I’ve said it a couple of times on the podcast and in this newsletter: Cam Miller comes through with a DIME every couple of days at practice. Yesterday he had two of them. First, he hit Carter Runyon with a beautiful back shoulder ball on a seam route. The defender was right up on him, but he delivered it in the perfect spot, and Runyon did a great job tracking it, too. Then later on in practice, he dropped one in the bucket to Marquez Callaway on a fade. Another one where the coverage was pretty good, but the defender had no shot on that one. It was a good day for the youngin’.

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Raiders are back at practice today around 8:45 a.m.

So with that in mind, keep an eye out for the next episode of the Silver & Black Sports Network Podcast later this afternoon after we wrap up everything down there at the facility. As long as timing permits, our guy Q Myers of Raider Nation Radio will be jumping on the pod to help us break down practice and offer up his thoughts on what he’s seen from the Raiders throughout training camp. Q is the man, so this is going to be a fun one.

Catch ya next time,