Raiders rookie tries to block out the doubters: ‘I think I did a good job’

Ashton Jeanty scanned the formation to try to identify which of the eight Patriots defenders on the line of scrimmage would rush the passer.

It turned out to be linebacker Christian Elliss coming off the left edge.

Jeanty, the Raiders’ first-round pick in April’s draft, took two hops to his right, set his feet and delivered a two-hand punch to Elliss’ chest. The running back stopped Elliss long enough for right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson to come over and knock Elliss out of the play.

Jeanty’s effort on that first-quarter play bought quarterback Geno Smith enough time to find wide receiver Tre Tucker for a 26-yard touchdown on the Raiders’ opening drive, kick-starting the team’s Week 1 road win over the Patriots.

“Especially in the game now, you have got to pick up those blitzes, have got to protect the quarterback,” Jeanty said. “And I think I did a good job.”

The tape backs him up.

Jeanty said his teammates were particularly fired up during a film session about a rep where he was lined up to Smith’s left. He recognized cornerback Carlton Davis III was blitzing and met him before Davis got anywhere near the backfield.

“He did really well (in pass protection), he really did,” coach Pete Carroll said. “We were really pleased about that and noticed it early in the game when he had a couple chances. And that’s all he’s shown us. He hasn’t shown us anything but that, but you’ve still got to do it. And he came through just fine.”

Three-down back

Pass protection is often something rookie running backs struggle with, but Jeanty knew he had to master it if he wanted to stay on the field in passing situations.

“I take a lot of pride in that,” said Jeanty, who also caught both of his targets. “Especially being a three-down back, being able to run it, catch it and being able to protect the quarterback in the pass game as well.”

His determination was noticed by the Raiders coaches, who had him on the field for 54 of the team’s 63 offensive snaps.

“That may have been a little high to be honest with you,” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “But I thought he did a really nice job overall in the entire game.”

Jeanty certainly wouldn’t have been on the field that much if he didn’t show he could handle himself as a blocker.

“You have to be able to pick up a pass pro and he did a nice job of that too for his first time in a game,” Kelly said. “We do it all the time in practice, but practice is a lot different than a game.”

Learning on the fly

Kelly believes the protection Jeanty and the offensive line afforded Smith was impressive because the group had few live reps together during the preseason.

The Raiders’ blockers still looked like a well-oiled machine in New England.

“It’s a team sport at the end of the day,” Jeanty said. “Obviously, whether you win or lose, they’ll highlight guys whether you played well or played bad but at the end of the day, on the stat line, win or lose, it’s the Raiders organization. It’s not, ‘This guy lost, that guy lost. That guy won, that guy won.’ So, everything that I do is for the team.”

Jeanty, of course, was still drafted because of his potential with the ball in his hands. He was limited to 38 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries against the Patriots, but he showed glimpses of what is to come.

Kelly said he liked the physicality Jeanty ran with. Smith is excited to continue watching the rookie’s development.

Carroll thinks Jeanty will improve in Week 2 after shaking off the nerves from his NFL debut.

“I think he just wants to do his job,” Carroll said. “I would be really surprised if (more yards) would be his point of emphasis. He seems to be right in it. He’ll take advantage of the opportunities. There’s things he could have done better, that’s what he wants to do. He wants to make sure he maximizes the opportunities of the reads that he gets in the running game. And we might have missed a couple of those, I thought, because he was just a little jacked up and just wasn’t as patient as he normally will be. So, we’ll see how that goes.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.