Boise State hosted their Pro Day today on Wednesday, March 26th. With superstar running back Ashton Jeanty part of the school’s football club, NFL personnel took advantage of the opportunity to get an up-close view of what the 21-year-old can do. That includes Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek.
It’s not uncommon for NFL front offices to assign team scouts and positional coaches visits to events such as Pro Days, where they can get an in-person look at various prospects. In fact, that’s common practice. It’s much less common, however, for the general manager himself to attend these events.
Spytek, like many front office personnel league-wide, wants to see for himself what Jeanty, who elected not to partake in physical events such as the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, can do.
Jeanty will partake in those events during his Pro Day today.
Why Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek is so interested in Ashton Jeanty
Isn’t it obvious? This past season, during the ’24 college football regular season, Jeanty ranked first among all players in the FBS in: rushing yardage (2,287), rushing touchdowns (28), forced missed tackles (125), 10-plus yard runs (55), 15-plus yard runs (33), and first downs (106). His 1,695 yards after contact were more than any player in the FBS recorded on the ground in general; after and before contact yardage combined.
Jeanty was that dominant in 2024.
So dominant, that the argument against selecting him high in the 2025 NFL Draft is he only put up 104 rushing yards against Penn State in the playoffs.
Jeanty may play in the Mountain West division, but he performed better than anyone in the entirety of the FBS against more prominent teams that ranked top-16 in least points allowed throughout the year.
Against Oregon in Week 2, the 16th-ranked team via least points per game in the FBS, Jeanty put on a show. He recorded 192 yards on the ground (3rd-most in FBS for the week) with eight forced missed tackles (one less than most in FBS for the week) and three touchdowns.
Then, in the playoffs against Penn State, Jeanty recorded 104 yards on the ground. The most impressive thing about his performance was the 16 would-be tacklers he made miss. This was three more forced missed tackles than any player totaled during any round of the 2024 College Football Playoffs.
In fact, no player in the entirety of the FBS was able to tie this mark during any game against any school throughout the entirety of the ’24 season, regular season or playoffs. Well. except Jeanty himself, who was able to beat that number twice throughout his ’24 campaign.
The best in the business post-contact
Another reason John Spytek and the Las Vegas Raiders are likely enamored by Ashton Jeanty is his unmatched post-contact abilities.
During the ’24 regular season, Jeanty totaled 1,695 yards after contact. This was more yardage than any player in the FBS had on the ground in general throughout that same period of time, both before and after contact yardage combined.
But, Jeanty plays in the Mountain West division. That’s why his yards after contact total was so high. Well.. not quite.
Again, the Boise State superstar played against two top-16 defenses via least points allowed throughout the ’24 season. And, once again, those are the two games we’ll be focusing on here.
Against Oregon, Jeanty totaled 111 yards after contact. Had he averaged this number throughout his ’24 regular season campaign, he’d have 1,443 yards post-contact. This would’ve been the sixth-most rushing yards any player in the FBS had in general, both pre- and post-contact.
In case you missed it–that’s his yards after contact alone, averaging what he compiled against Oregon. This would’ve been the most yards post-contact in the FBS by over 200.
Jeanty was able to total 81 yards after contact against Penn State in the playoffs. It’s a drop off from his numbers against Oregon, but it’s still a simply fantastic number. Had the Heisman runner-up averaged this number post-contact, he would’ve totaled 1,053 yards after initial contact; the third-most yards of this variety throughout the ’24 regular season.
It’s not hard to see why the Raiders, like many teams league-wide, are interested in Jeanty’s abilities. Dave Ziegler gets a first-hand look here.
*Top Photo: Brian Losness/Imagn Images
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