Raiders 2025: Ashton Jeanty’s arrival resets running back room

Las Vegas’ depth, pecking order in backfield shakes up, and will shape up this offseason

By taking electrifying Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty sixth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, there’s no question who the lead of the pack is in the Las Vegas Raiders running back room.

An attitude adjustment-type runner, the Silver & Black have shaken up what was a questionable collection of tailbacks by adding Jeanty to to the mix. Las Vegas’ depth and pecking order received an emphatic boost with one move. Sure, there are detractors who point to the devalued running back position yelling to high heavens taking a tailback No. 6 in the draft lunacy.

Yet, to exercise the demons of absurdity which was the Raiders run game in 2024, general manager John Spytek and head coach Pete Carroll made the call to snag a hard-to-tackle running back.

“Well, there’s a lot of things to talk about, but one of the things, he was hard to tackle. I mean, guys couldn’t get him on the ground,” Carroll answered when asked what really stood out about Jeanty. “And I compared him with a lot of players in the past, that skill to make people miss and to bounce off tackles and to use the force of the tacklers. And he had marvelous talent in that regard, and that he reminded me — and I’m not going to share them with you, because I don’t want to compare — but with a number of players that we’ve watched over the years, and going back quite a ways. I thought he was that unique.”

Our Matt Holder did an outstanding job breaking down what Jeanty brings to the Raiders’ offense. And I wrote about how the tenacious tailback was a perfect storm of best player available (BPA) while also filling a need.

So we’ve written plenty about Jeanty.

How’s the rest of the running back room going to shape up?

Las Vegas Raiders Running Backs

• Ashton Jeanty, 21 years old, Rookie
• Raheem Mostert, 33, 11th season
• Zamir White, 25, 4th season
• Sincere McCormick, 24, 3rd season
• Chris Collier, 25, 2nd season
• Dylan Laube, 25, 2nd season
• Also interesting to note: Only Jeanty and Laube have contracts that go beyond this season. The rest of the group are on one-year pacts.

The group above doesn’t include any undrafted free agents or rookie minicamp invites — as their additions haven’t been made official by the Raiders, yet. That bunch has a super veteran and young players and the rookie.

Jeanty coming in like gangbusters and being the workhorse he was in college gives Las Vegas offensive coordinator Chip Kelly the opportunity to get creative with not only his scheme, but how he deploys running backs this season.

With a blend of power, speed, and vision, Jeanty can give Kelly the all-around back. While Mostert brings scintillating speed to the table even at the ripe age of 33. White and McCormick bring a power element to the table while Collier and Laube are special teams-type backs.

As our Marcus Johnson noted above, I agree with his assessment that Mostert is an upgrade at RB2. He’s experienced in Kelly’s scheme, still has the jets to make defenses pay, and provides vision along with that speed.

While the hot hand/workhorse RB1 is likely in play with Jeanty aboard, keeping tailbacks fresh with a committee approach may be the best route. This keeps defenses on their toes whether it be Jeanty, Mostert, White, or McCormick lined up in the backfield. And gives the group a breather — especially Jeanty who had quite the workload in his final season at Boise.

Las Vegas has a potentially thunder & lightning group that can wear down defenses with a grueling power element and torch them with speed.

That said, there’s one running back in particular that merits attention this offseason: White.

The 6-foot and 215-pound Georgia product had a mirage 2023 season before floundering int he Raiders offense in 2024. The fourth-round pick (122nd overall) of the 2022 draft profiled as a power runner with speed and despite the fleeting moments in his second season, the fourth-year pro is more apt to sprint into the backs of his offensive linemen than finding the crease and gaining yards.

This, of course, is largely due to the blocking scheme. An ill-fit for zone, White is much better in gap and power sets.

Over the course of his coaching tenure, Kelly deploys a diverse ground game that runs the gamut of blocking schemes. And that’s a plus for White.

But his inability to find success in other blocking alignments is troubling and can pigeon hole him into a specific role. But, that may not be a bad thing for the 25-year-old who is on the final year of his rookie deal. What hinders White, though, is McCormick, an undrafted free agent out of UTSA, offers similar power but with better vision.

The latter portion of the running back room is expected to play special teams, something that caters to Collier’s and Laube’s skillsets.

But let’s not get it twisted here, folks. Had the Raiders not added an elite prospect like Jeanty, the chances of Laube and Collier landing a roster spot would’ve been exponentially better.

The depth chart will shake out this offseason and those that don’t shape up, will be shipped out.