RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty left Sunday’s practice with a lower-body injury, per ESPN’s Ryan McFadden .
The second-year running back reportedly dove to make a catch, but landed awkwardly. He was helped off the field by trainers, and it was noted that he was unable to put any pressure on his right leg.
With Las Vegas going through a rebuild under new head coach Klint Kubiak, the offense was expected to run through Jeanty.
If he misses any substantial time with the injury, the Raiders will have to either overhaul their offensive approach to the season or put more work on rookie RB Mike Washington Jr., the team’s fourth-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
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Jeanty was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft after putting up a near record-breaking season at Boise State.
He played in all 17 games last year as a rookie and ran for 975 yards with five touchdowns on 266 carries. Jeanty added another 346 yards and five touchdowns on 55 receptions.
With veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins poised to open the season as the starting quarterback, with rookie Fernando Mendoza focusing on his development, Las Vegas was almost assuredly planning on getting Jeanty even more touches in his second season.
What does this mean for fantasy football?
While this isn’t the focal point of Jeanty’s injury, there is a massive fantasy football implication if he ends up missing any time.
Ahead of the injury, Jeanty was being selected 13th overall at Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football . He was coming off the board as the RB7. This puts him at the start of the second round.
A lower-body injury that left him unable to put weight on his leg is concerning, but without further evaluation and an official diagnosis, it is tough to drop him too far in the rankings.
That being said, it is not a bad idea to increase the value of his backup, Mike Washington Jr. He was already expected to be a solid handcuff to target later in drafts, but has an ADP of 128.2, or the 11th round in 12-team leagues.
Washington Jr. should be selected a little earlier, given that he would have a clear advantage in the backfield even if Las Vegas opted for more of a committee. The other Raiders running backs currently on the roster are Dare Ogunbowale, Dylan Laube, and Roman Hemby.
The rookie running back played for the Arkansas Razorbacks last season. In 12 games, he tallied 1,070 rushing yards and 13 total scores, with 12 of them coming on the ground.
Washington Jr. currently doesn’t have the talent to completely overtake Jeanty in the backfield, but he was already expected to serve as a reliable backup. Now, he could be in line for a bigger workload.
If the news comes out that Jeanty is going to be sidelined for the early part of the season, don’t be surprised if Washington Jr. starts being drafted in the seventh or eighth round given the expectation of a high early-season workload.
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