Raiders welcome ‘rolling ball of knives’ Jeanty to backfield

Raiders center Jackson Powers-Johnson jumped from his chair when the team’s first-round pick was announced Thursday night.

He was participating in a live draft edition of teammate Maxx Crosby’s podcast in front of a small group of fans when the pick was made. Crosby and Powers-Johnson expressed joy with the selection, though it was Powers-Johnson who offered the best analysis.

“I can’t wait to block for that guy,” the second-year pro said. “He runs like he’s angry at the turf.”

That was a new one for Jeanty, the sixth overall pick who was formally introduced Friday during a news conference at the team facility.

“I think that’s a great description,” the Jacksonville, Florida, native laughed. “I’ve heard so many different ways to describe how I run, but I think my favorite one somebody said was that I was a rolling ball of knives.”

‘Hard to tackle’

That helps explain why the Raiders defied modern NFL thinking by making Jeanty the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley went No. 2 in 2018.

“He was hard to tackle,” coach Pete Carroll said. “I mean, guys couldn’t get him on the ground. I compared him with a lot of players in the past, that skill to make people miss and to bounce off tackles and to use the force of the tacklers, and he had marvelous talent in that regard.”

Carroll said Jeanty compares favorably to some of the great running backs he’s seen and coached during his many years in football, though he didn’t want to add any pressure to the already lofty draft status by adding a legendary comparison.

That didn’t stop it from happening a bit more organically.

While LaDainian Tomlinson references were flying around social media, Barry Sanders actually reacted to a post about Jeanty finishing second in NCAA history in single-season rushing yards behind only Sanders by congratulating Jeanty and expressing his excitement to watch him play in the NFL.

Jeanty and Sanders have met a few times, but perhaps no name meant more to Jeanty than Marshawn Lynch, who played for Carroll in Seattle and is a former Raider.

Lynch was one of Jeanty’s first football idols, and Carroll said his former player called him several times Thursday night to express his excitement over the pick.

“He’s pretty fired up about it,” Carroll said. “And there’s nobody that loves the whole running game more than he does.

“There are similarities in that his ability to make plays when it doesn’t look like there’s anything there, Marshawn did that throughout his career. And he found a physical way to kind of bank off of people and bounce, just keep plays alive, and Ashton really is a player that shows that kind of style.”

It’s an acknowledgement Jeanty appreciates.

“I’ve always been a fan of Marshawn,” he said. “He’s one of the first running backs that I watched, so to kind of have that support and him showing love is everything.”

New home

Jeanty was in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to hear his name called Thursday before making his way to Henderson on Friday, where he, along with his parents and agents, got a chance to tour the team facility and meet his new teammates and bosses.

It gave him some time to process his feelings about becoming a member of the organization.

“I’m excited to be here, but it’s been a pretty crazy 24 hours,” he said. “Not much sleep, but just a lot of excitement, celebrating with my family. And I mean last night I was pretty much up the whole night just thinking about what a great honor it is to be a Raider.”

Jeanty plans on getting right to work preparing for his rookie campaign, though he acknowledged it will be tough to replicate his gaudy collegiate stats.

“It’s tough to say I’ll get 2,600 yards again right off the rip,” Jeanty said jokingly. “But I just want to be a great asset to this team and a great teammate.”

While the Raiders hope for plenty of production, they have been clear his strong character was just as appealing. Jeanty said it was one of the reasons he felt connected to the organization throughout the predraft process.

“I think the most important thing they said to me is when I asked them, ‘What are their values as a team?’” he said. “They said they’re looking for the right people. They’re looking for great people along with great players, and I think my personality fits that, and the character will go a lot longer than anything that I do on the football field.”

He credits his parents for providing a strong foundation and singled out being raised in a military family as a major factor.

“It shaped me really well,” he said. ‘Talk about discipline and handling adversity, always dealing with change, having to do things on the fly, and I think that it’s kind of a lot like football. There’s always going to be things that don’t go your way, you’re always going to have to change something in the game, and it’s really helped me grow into the man I am today.”

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