Fantasy Football Managers Get Good News on Ashton Jeanty Ahead of Week 1
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Weeks ago, Ashton Jeanty went viral on social media. It's not for good reason either. The star Raiders running back went down during practice, and his teammates subsequently took a knee. The worst was feared as Jeanty left the field, struggling to bear weight. A borderline first-round draft pick in 2026 fantasy football, we owners all held our breath.
Fast forward to the days following, Jeanty's injury was labeled weirdly. "A little low, and a little high," the team was calling it. What does that even mean? There is no such thing; it is either low or high. The broad speculation was that the sprain was low. Optimism grew that Jeanty would play in Week 1 of the NFL.
That promising news continued to roll on up until today, September 10. Adam Shefter just about sealed Jeanty's fate this afternoon. On the Pat McAfee show, Schefter said that Jeanty will play. The major breakthrough was Jeanty's return to Wednesday practice.
"Ashton Jeanty is back at practice and he's gonna play..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 10, 2026
It looks like Jeremiyah Love is gonna play..
Malik Nabers is on track to play on Sunday night"@AdamSchefter #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/LeqdkUZQSC
What to Expect in Week 1?
The recovery timeline for a low ankle sprain is 1-3 weeks, depending on severity. Jeanty will be at about the 3-week mark when the Raiders host the Dolphins on Sunday.
Deepak Chona, MD. SMA expects Jeanty to play with just about no dip in any aspect of his game.
Tom Christ, PT, DPT, OCS, FAAOMPT, also expected relatively good football from Jeanty in Week 1. Given that the Raiders will start Jeanty and have not made any scary comments, we can proceed with the same expectation.
The worst case is that Mike Washington Jr. has earned some respect and can up his run shareincrease to the 25-30% range. The best thing we can do is explore team comments.
"He's still a maturing player," Klint Kubiak tells the media regarding Washington Jr. Kubiak went on to say, "He's earned more opportunities."
None of the comments from Las Vegas point toward a set number of carries for Washington Jr or a share projection. Nonetheless, I have boosted his share of the rushing offense to about 28%. Jeanty is written down at 67%. The small balance goes to Jalen Nailor and Jack Bech on sporadic end-arounds. Kirk Cousins adds none on his feet.
The number is variable. It will surely not be precise. Accumulating as much information as possible, that number seems a safe and fair estimate given the amount of information available. In total, Jeanty is projected to have 16.1 carries, 69.2 rushing yards, and 0.5 touchdowns in the Raiders' Week 1 affair: RB13 overall. Washington Jr. is projected for 6.7 carries, 28.9 yards, and 0.2 touchdowns: RB45.
ESPN ranks the Dolphins' interior defensive line as the 26th-best in the NFL. Often the best avenue to run-stop, that shows that Jeanty shall have promising upside. The Raiders' offensive line only ranks as the 21st-best, but that still trumps Miami's run-stopping.
Jeanty should obviously be a must-start RB1 this week. As for Washington Jr., he is nothing more than a roster stash handcuff. He could be eyed as a deep sleeper in DFS formats, but that is it.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.