Ashton Jeanty, Geno Smith, Pete Caroll Bring New Identity To Raiders Training Camp

The Raiders have struggled to find any success in recent years. They have undergone the failed days of Josh McDaniels, tested out Jimmy G, Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell, and gave it a go with Antonio Pierce at the helm. Since Jon Gruden was forced out of his job, the team has not found any winning success. As they sit in the hardest division in football, something had to change and Mark Davis did just that. Pete Carroll is in town with a new contingent and 2025 is hopeful to become a winning season.

This past offseason, Pete Carroll began his tenure by bringing in his Seattle quarterback, Geno Smith. They also went out and drafted Ashton Jeanty - one of the best college running backs in recent history. They even added veteran back Raheem Mostert to sit right behind him. Mostert lead the NFL in touchdowns just back in 2023. As camp is now underway, we take a deeper look into this version of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Ashton Jeanty

Jeanty decided to stay out of the transfer portal and the NFL Draft as he returned to Boise State in 2024. A radical decision, Jeanty received much praise for staying loyal to his team. By coming back to Boise, Jeanty went on to have one of the greatest season out of a college running back in modern history.

In 14 games, Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards and a whopping 29 touchdowns. This was an average of 7 yards per carry... for a Group of 5 team. To no surprise, Jeanty came into the draft as a highly touted prospect and he went, as expected, 6th to the Raiders. His expectations as a rookie will be to the moon, and honestly, he may reach it.

ASHTON JEANTY 75-YARDS TO THE HOUSE 💨

14 carries, 132 yds, 1 TD in the 1st half 😤pic.twitter.com/DX9b85Clwi
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 7, 2024

The rookie is not shy to a heavy workload. Pete Carroll, in his history with Marshawn Lynch, will not be shy to use him. The Raiders ranked dead last in rushing a year ago, and Jeanty is here with a purpose to flip the script. Las Vegas is expected to use Jeanty as a healthy amount and though his supporting offense is not All-Pro material, he still may touch the ball well over 20 times per game for over 4 yards per carry.

Geno Smith

The Raiders quarterback situation has been ugly in recent years, and that may be putting it nicely. O'Connell threw for less than 7 yards per attempt and still had 11 interceptions in 17 starts.. Actually not as bad as I expected to see, but not good. Even worse, Gardner Minshew threw 10 picks in 9 starts, outdoing his touchdown number (9).

The free agency market was nothing overly thrilling this past year and thus, Carroll brought in his Ol' Reliable Geno Smith. In a strugglesome career, Smith came to Seattle and found something in his game. In three core starting years with Seattle, Smith tossed 71 touchdowns and had two 4k yard seasons. Carroll trusts Smith and he shall provide a quality arm to the Raiders.

The ceiling of Geno Smith can definitely be questioned. It is unlikely that he will be a pro-bowl caliber QB (although, you never know...). That being said, O'Connell is the only quality backup sitting behind. Security should be there in excess for Geno. Jakobi Meyers had a stellar 2024 season and with him and Brock Bowers leading the charge with Jeanty to compliment, Smith has enough options to play quality football.

Pete Carroll Brings a New Identity

The Super Bowl head coach is taking another stab at a rebuild after he left Seattle after many successful years. Many coaches transitioning from college to the NFL have struggled. Take a look at Greg Schiano, Matt Rhule, and even Nick Saban all those years ago. Carroll even struggled his first go around. When he came to Seattle, he found something new and he won.

Pete comes with an emphasis on culture, player development from within, and most importantly, winning experience. The Raiders have some work to do, but they must start somewhere. Carroll shall be expected to pound the rock with Jeanty to open it up for Bowers and Meyers. It will be a very balanced offense quite similar to Seattle's in the prime-2010's.

With Carroll comes veteran defensive mind, Patrick Graham. Though Graham has had up and down success, Las Vegas should be a good fit. They are a struggling team that must respect Graham with less diva action. Maxx Crosby is re-signed and here to stay. Christian Wilkins and Jeremy Chinn also join the equation. Experience in coaching not lacking with Vegas and it may pay dividends to a solid rebuild.