A first-team All-American in back-to-back years, Jeanty took home the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back and the Maxwell Award as the best all-around player in 2024.
The 5-foot-8, 211-pound back packs a punch. A slippery runner with elusiveness and cut-back talent that has conjured comparisons to LaDainian Tomlinson and Barry Sanders, Jeanty is a surefire playmaker from the backfield.
The comparisons are weighty but apt. The Boise State product owns the rare combo of burst, shiftiness and power to finish runs. The biggest knock might be that he doesn’t boast the elite top-end straight-line speed, but neither did L.T. When a defensive back’s ankles are broken in space, the speed becomes superfluous.
Jeanty’s college highlight tape is enough to make any scout drool. He owns the vision, balance and wiggle to leave defenders gasping for air. He’s got the tight-quarter slipperiness of an Alvin Kamara, able to slide through tackles.
The 21-year-old also boasts excellent hands to excel in the screen game or as an outlet. The back will have to negate the fumbles after coughing up nine over the past two seasons.
In three years at Boise, Jeanty generated 4,769 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns. He added 80 catches for 862 yards and another six scores. In 2024, he galloped for the aforementioned 2,601 rushing yards, falling just shy of Sanders’ collegiate record (2,628).
Jeanty fills a massive need for the Raiders and portends to be a game-changer for a franchise that’s had three straight losing seasons.
In 2023, the Atlanta Falcons picked Bijan Robinson at No. 8 and the Detroit Lions followed with Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12. Both selections were critiqued at the time, and both have worked out so far.
Last year, there wasn’t a single back selected in the first round. Barkley’s sensational season for the Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles coupled with a talented RB class seems to have altered the outlook on the importance of running backs once again, however.
The Raiders weren’t afraid to use a high pick on a back they believe can change their future, and the 2025 draft is off and running.
