Somewhere, running back Ashton Jeanty had to be smiling.
We have no idea where the Las Vegas Raiders running back watched the Super Bowl, of course, but he certainly had plenty of reasons to smile. His new coach, Klint Kubiak, showed just what he can do with a top running back, and Jeanty stands to be the big beneficiary as Kubiak takes over the Raiders. plenty of reason
Pro Football Focus thought so, too. They rated Jeanty as one of X players who would benefit most from their new coach, and alll of this makes total sense.
There’s a ways to go to get from here to there, however. The problem at the moment is the Raiders offense line, which was horrendous, to the point where it was rated the worst in the NFL. Kubiak will also almost certainly be breaking in a rookie quarterback after the 2026 draft, which could hurt Jeanty’s production, although it’s hard to imagine a quarterback doing that worse than QB Geno Smith did this past season.
First things first, though—let’s take a good look at that potential offensive line fix. It’s a big one, but the silver lining here is the health of left tackle Kolton Miller, who went out early in the season due to a high ankle sprain that turned into an actual fracture. Miller almost played at the end of the season, but fortunately he emerged unscathed, which means he’ll likely be coming to camp healthy.
That would make a big difference. There’s a signing right now in the NFL that if you don’t have a left tackle you don’t have an offensive line, and that definitely turned out to be true for Miller. The Raiders line was actually competent in multiple games before he went out, but that was when things definitely fell apart.
One thing working in Jeanty’s favor is the amount of cap space the Raiders have, which is also among the highest in the league. If Miller is healthy, that would allow Las Vegas to sign another free agent lineman to bolster the group, then further reinforce what the Raiders already have via the draft.
It's a big ask, but at least it's reason for optimism. Kubiak showed what he can do when he has an explosive back like Kenneth Walker III at his disposal, and Walker ended up being the end of the Super Bowl. Jeanty may not end up with the same scenario, but it's not unreasonable to project significant improvement under his new coach.