Strategy
Ashton Jeanty Isn't a Bust — The Raiders Just Gave Him Actual Blockers
Jeanty had 815 rushing yards after contact as a rookie — 88.5% of his total. The Raiders finally gave him blockers. This is a massive buy-low opportunity.
By Kenny Flermoen · August 5, 2026
Ashton Jeanty was the Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite entering 2025. He finished RB13. The season looked disappointing on paper: RB13, 975 yards, 25 short of 1,000. The optics hurt. But dig deeper and the story changes.
The yards-after-contact truth
Jeanty scored 217.6 half-PPR points in 2025 (RB13), averaging 12.8 PPG on 1,321 total yards. The surface read: bust. Dig into the advanced stats and the read changes completely. He averaged just 1.3 yards before contact per attempt — second-fewest among qualifying backs in the league. That means the Raiders' line got him hit in the backfield on nearly every carry. He still generated 815 of his 975 rushing yards after contact — 88.5% of his total — which is elite production for a rookie. He also forced 24 broken tackles, third-most in the NFL, flashing the playmaker Las Vegas hoped it was drafting.
Most backs need functional blocking to hit those numbers. Jeanty didn't have it and produced anyway.
The Raiders finally invested
The offensive line wasn't just bad in 2025 — it was historically bad. Jeanty came within 25 yards of 1,000 behind an offensive line that graded among the NFL's worst. The Raiders knew this. They fired the coaching staff, hired Klint Kubiak — fresh off winning the Super Bowl as Seattle's offensive coordinator — and went all in on the line.
What they did:
- Signed three-time Pro Bowl center Tyler Linderbaum out of Baltimore to a three-year, $81 million deal, with $60 million guaranteed — the richest contract ever for a center in NFL history.
- Signed Spencer Burford, a five-year starter off San Francisco's line, to fill a guard spot.
- Drafted Trey Zuhn III in the third round (6'7", 319 pounds, five seasons at Texas A&M).
- Left tackle Kolton Miller is fully healthy entering camp, after playing hurt for most of 2025.
That's not a marginal upgrade. That's a reset. Tyler Linderbaum is a three-time Pro Bowl center — one of the best in football. The Raiders paid him like it.
The system is built for him
Kubiak's offense is not theoretical. It's a wide-zone, run-first attack that gets backs into space, and coaches with his scheme background have gotten real production out of backs given a similar runway. It has also opened the door for Jeanty to play in the slot, adding a new wrinkle against opposing defenses.
Jeanty isn't asking for much. He's asking for clean space. "I feel like I can run in any scheme, but this one's especially great," Jeanty told reporters at camp in late July. "Running the wide zone and really attacking the defense and getting them running and then hitting them with some inside zone and play action."
That's confidence, not arrogance. He knows what he can do when he gets a chance.
The DVS gap is real, and it favors you
NextDyne projects Jeanty at 18.2 half-PPR points per game for 2026. His Dynasty Value Score sits at 8,843 — top tier for a running back. But the market is still spooked by 2025. He's available as a second-round consideration in many dynasty drafts, which is a reach for a 22-year-old with his talent profile and a rebuilt line.
| Player | DVS |
|---|---|
| Bucky Irving | 8,894 |
| Ashton Jeanty | 8,843 |
| Kenneth Walker III | 8,773 |
| James Cook | 8,770 |
| Jonathan Taylor | 8,725 |
| Kyren Williams | 8,618 |
Most of those backs were either proven second-year plays or already-established veterans. Jeanty is younger than all of them and just got the best offensive line of his NFL career.
The caveats
Two things can derail this: if Las Vegas doesn't find competent answers at the rest of the line next to Linderbaum and Miller, Jeanty could still get hit in the backfield. And injuries could unravel the rebuild — Linderbaum or Miller going down kills the reset. Jeanty deserves some of the blame too; that 1.3 yards-before-contact mark is partly on the line, but vision and burst matter here as well, and he's still developing both.
But the trend is unmistakable: better line, better scheme, better opportunity.
Want to see how Ashton Jeanty stacks up in your own league? Compare his value in the Dynasty Trade Calculator and check where the discount actually is.
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FAQ
- Is Ashton Jeanty a bust?
- No. 815 of his 975 rushing yards as a rookie came after contact — 88.5% of his total, behind an offensive line that ranked among the league's worst. The talent screams elite. The situation was the problem, and the Raiders fixed it.
- How much does Tyler Linderbaum actually help?
- A lot. He's a three-time Pro Bowl center and the highest-paid center in NFL history. When a team spends that kind of money on one position, it's a statement. The Raiders are saying: "We broke the line. We fixed the line. Now run."
- Shouldn't I wait to see how he looks before buying?
- You could. But camp reports already have the Raiders' offensive line looking rebuilt, and the market is still discounting last year. Once he breaks a big run in Week 1 behind Linderbaum, the price goes up. Buy now.
- What's a realistic ceiling for 2026?
- RB1 finish — anywhere from 240 to 300 PPR points depending on touchdown luck and game script. NextDyne's projection of roughly 305 half-PPR points is reasonable if the line holds and Kubiak's offense clicks. He's not a lock, but he's a borderline first-round asset again.