Will Ashton Jeanty be part of Raiders RB by committee? Why Pete Carroll’s comments don’t mesh with his history

If they haven’t already, the Fantasy Football wheels are probably starting to spin inside your brain. With the summer in front of us, you’ll start trolling in the league group chat while hovering over the grill, take a gander at some early rankings poolside, and maybe even do a mock draft or two (or 15). 

One of the more popular figures when you inevitably begin that research will undoubtedly be Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. Vegas selected him with the No. 6 overall pick out of Boise State, making him the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley in 2018. And for good reason. During his final collegiate season, Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards, coming up just 28 yards shy of Barry Sanders’ single-season record from 1988. Meanwhile, he registered 1,970 yards rushing after contact last season, and his 13 rushes of 50-plus yards were more than any other team in FBS. 

So, yeah, the guy is a freak in the best way possible and should completely flip the Raiders’ ground attack on its head after rushing for the fewest yards in the entire NFL in 2024. 

However, Jeanty isn’t the only back that Las Vegas brought in this offseason, also signing veteran Raheem Mostert. And coach Pete Carroll did send shivers down the spines of everyone who would like to select Jeanty inside the first round of their Fantasy drafts this week when he seemed to be open to a backfield-by-committee approach. 

“They’re gonna show us that when they get the chance to compete,” Carroll told reporters Thursday when asked how he’ll divvy up the workload out of the backfield. “I love having multiple guys play. I’m not relying on one guy. Thunder and Lightning back in the day, whatever it takes to get it done. We’re going to let the guys play for that, their play time.” 

Carroll talked up Jeanty, Mostert, and even Zamir White during that answer, and his comment about “not relying on one guy” does suggest that Jeanty may not be the bell cow back that most thought he’d be on draft night. 

However, despite Carroll’s recent comments, his prior history does suggest that he’ll give the lion’s share of touches to an elite back when he has one. Below, you can see the discrepancies in carries between the No. 1 and No. 2 running back during Carroll’s entire tenure as coach of the Seattle Seahawks (2010-2023).

As you can see above, over his 14-season run with the Seahawks, there were only four instances where the top two running backs were within 45 carries of one another during a single season. And one of those instances was in 2015 when Lynch was limited to seven games due to injury. 

Meanwhile, there were eight seasons where the lead back recorded at least 200 carries within Carroll’s offense, a role that could now be eyed by Jeanty. In those situations where Carroll gave his top back at least 200 carries, they topped 1,000 yards seven times. That’s a juicy nugget for bettors given Jeanty’s odds to top 1,000 yards rushing at FanDuel Sportsbook sit at -185. Moreover, six of those backs who registered 200 carries also topped Jeanty’s current season-long prop of 1,075.5 yards rushing. 

Even if Mostert carves out a role within the Raiders offense, it shouldn’t put too much of a dent (if any) in the first-round rookie’s production when considering how Carroll has leaned on backs like Lynch, Carson and Walker in the past. Of course, this comes with the caveat that Jeanty needs to arrive as advertised, which, by all accounts, he’s displayed during offseason workouts. 

Go to Source
Author: Tyler Sullivan
June 13, 2025 | 10:10 am