The Las Vegas Raiders added a blue-chip star in the 2025 NFL Draft, and his arrival could mean the end for one veteran playmaker.
Raiders head coach Pete Carroll landed the guy drawing comparisons to Marshawn Lynch, with whom he won a Super Bowl while coaching the Seattle Seahawks. If the offensive makeup follows a similar style with a true bell cow running back, one former Pro Bowler could be expendable.
Ashton Jeanty Poised To Take Over the Offense From Week 1
The Raiders couldn’t run the football in 2024. The absence of Josh Jacobs hurt the offense tremendously, and they subsequently became one of the worst ground-game teams in the league.
In 2025, they’ve been quick to fix the issue, with an almost entirely new group of ball carriers brought in to play under the new coaching staff.
Carroll’s return to the NFL should be a thrill, and fans know he loves to run the football. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty had drawn comparisons to Lynch during the pre-draft process and will now get to emulate that style under Carroll.
His arrival means a significant shortage of carries for the other running backs on the roster, including one Pro-Bowler who’d only just arrived. Former Miami Dolphins speed-back Raheem Mostert signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with the Raiders in mid-March.
At 33 years old, there’s a chance he is now surplus to requirements. PFSN’s Sterling Xie believes Las Vegas may try to orchestrate a trade:
“If the Raiders feel comfortable with Jeanty and McCormick as a young duo capable of soaking up the backfield snaps, Mostert could be moved to a team that needs an upgrade at its RB2 spot.”
READ MORE: NFL Trade and Cut Candidates After the 2025 NFL Draft
The veteran has scored 23 rushing touchdowns in the last three seasons in Miami, including his 18-touchdown performance that led the NFL in 2023.
Sincere McCormick has earned his reps with the Raiders, having initially signed as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He can contribute on special teams, and he’s almost a decade younger than Mostert.
Jeanty’s Impressive Volume at Running Back
Jeanty had teams scrambling for his services in the 2025 NFL Draft, and with good reason. His 2024 performance was off the charts, recording 2,601 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns.
His yardage total is the second greatest in the history of college football, led only by the legendary Barry Sanders. Jeanty was a contender for the strong Heisman Trophy, and had he not been up against one of the most unique two-way players the game has ever seen, Travis Hunter, he’d have won it easily.
Jeanty is still just 21 years old, with an impressive workload over the past three seasons. He has a total of 748 carries, with a crazy 375 of those coming in the 2024 season alone. If you include his 23 receptions, he was two touches short of 400 in one year of college football.
The Raiders will undoubtedly want to hand him 20+ carries a game almost every week, which relegates the other running backs on the roster to minor roles.