There are notable new faces on the Las Vegas Raiders, who are hoping that the additions will make a big impact right away. Among those are head coach Pete Carroll and rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders also have a fresh option under center, with Geno Smith coming over via a trade from the Seattle Seahawks.
Jeanty is joined in the backfield by another Raiders newcomer in Raheem Mostert, forming a running back room which also features holdovers Sincere McCormick and Zamir White.
While many think that Jeanty will take over as the RB1 for the Raiders right away, his usage may not be as heavy as others think. That being said, he’ll get the chance to prove to Carroll that he can be a bellcow for the team from Week 1.
“They’re gonna show us that when they get the chance to compete,” Carroll said (via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk). “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 their play time. Raheem, I love having him. He’s an experienced guy, he’s been a great speedster for years. We’ve defended him for years and he’s been a nightmare for us.”
Carroll excited to see what the running backs will show in Las Vegas Raiders training camp
Carroll, who coached one of the best running backs ever in Marshawn Lynch with the Seahawks, knows that the guys considered to be behind Jeanty and Mostert have something to offer, at least in terms of competitiveness, in the upcoming training camp.
“Ashton is every bit what we hoped he would look like,” Carroll shared. “He’s caught the ball well, done good stuff, taken everything seriously, terrific effort throughout. We made it a really big deal to him: Everyone’s watching you. He’s embraced that.
Last season, the Raiders were last in the league with just 79.8 rushing yards per game, though, that was also because of gamescript, as they often had to play catch-up, which meant having to rely more on passing the ball.
“When we go to camp it’ll be game on,” Carroll said. “We’ll see what happens.”
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