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The Las Vegas Raiders ranked dead last in the NFL with 1,357 rushing yards as a team last season.
In order to address this abysmal mark — one that was reached by a total of five running backs and was just 28 yards away from being exceeded by recently-departed Raider Josh Jacobs on his own — the Raiders drafted running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Jeanty is coming off a college football season in which he got within 27 rushing yards of tying the single-season NCAA record with 2,601. He added 29 touchdowns, good for seventh in FBS single-season history, and had a record 14 games of 100-plus rushing yards.
Although this feels like the perfect pairing of a team in need of a running game and a demonstrated rusher that placed second in Heisman Trophy voting, there is just one change that Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly wants to make to his new running back's game: His pre-snap stance.
In what is playfully labeled as his 'Michael Myers' stance — the killer from the "Halloween" horror movie franchise — Jeanty has been urged by Kelly to try a new, more traditional pre-snap routine.
Jeanty spoke about his interaction with his offensive coordinator on the "Up & Adams Show," with Kay Adams, and how Kelly started the conversation.
"Sometimes you have to, you know, go with the flow," Jeanty said. "Chip Kelly, he comes up to me on the first day of minicamp, and he's like 'You ever play basketball?' I'm like, 'Yeah, I play basketball. You know, I can dunk and all that.' He's like, 'OK, show me how you would guard me,' and he's acting like he's holding the ball."
After proving through basketball motions how much a basketball defender would be at a disadvantage standing up straight, Jeanty explained that his offensive coordinator concluded by saying, "'That's exactly why you have to be down in your running back stance.'"
Jeanty conceded that Kelly "won for now," but the rookie left the door open for a potential reunion with his stance.
"I'm going to try and persuade him one day. I got to earn my stripes and make some plays first, but I don't think it's going to be the end," Jeanty said.
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About the writer
Gabe Smallson is a Newsweek contributor based in Los Angeles. His focus is sports and entertainment content. Gabe has been ... Read more