What Sold the Raiders on Drafting Jeanty

The Las Vegas Raiders took running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Raiders could have gone in so many directions, but what sold them on Jeanty?

Apr 24, 2025; Green Bay, WI, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty is selected by the Las Vegas Raiders as the number six pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders drafted their biggest need in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Raiders selected running back Ashton Jeanty out of Boise State. The Raiders selected him with the sixth overall pick, but the Raiders could have taken so many other players at the top. But what sold the Raiders on taking Jeanty?

Jeanty was the best running back in this class and one of the best overall players. Jeanty had an incredible college season last season and with the Raiders needing a running back after not having a successful running game last season, Jeanty made sense for the Silver and Black.

But for the Raiders it was much more than just taking their biggest need that lead them to Jeanty.

Our Hondo Carpenter talked about the Raiders taking Jeanty and how it was much more than just the player that led him to Las Vegas on a recent episode of the "Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast."

"They really liked him when they saw the film," said Carpenter. "But what sold the Raiders on him is when they met with him and his character, and his competitiveness really just brought it all out."

"He comes here [Las Vegas], he is with some other players on a visit. I think they went to Top Golf. He was just super competitive. But by the time it was over, he was kind of leading the group. They loved the way he talked about his family. You know, his dad was one of our American heroes. God bless our soldiers and our sailors and all our military."

"They were just impressed, everywhere they turned with him, it was a thumbs up. And the only thing was arms. Remember, there were a lot of people who did not like Drew Brees ,and the only thing they did not like about Drew was his size ... So the Raiders go out and get him [Jeanty]. This is an A."

"This is a guy they had a top five grade on ... The other thing they really liked about him was his ability to identify things quickly. It is one thing to be able to see something, it is another to react quickly. And they were very impressed with how quickly he saw things ... They really thought he was exceptional."

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