Raiders' Ashton Jeanty receiving plans for 2026 season should be very exciting

Raiders’ Ashton Jeanty receiving plans for 2026 season should be very exciting originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The 2025 season for the Las Vegas Raiders was a disaster, but it helped them land Fernando Mendoza first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. Mendoza might not start right away, so the thing to look forward too are the other youngsters on offense.

Brock Bowers should be in store for a huge season, but Ashton Jeanty might be the most exciting player on this team’s offense for 2026. After a shaky rookie season that wasn’t his fault, Jeanty could be in store for a huge and exciting 2026 season.

According to ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the Raiders have a plan with Jeanty to get him more involved in the offense by using him more in the passing game.

Raiders plan to use Ashton Jeanty in receiving game more in 2026

“Running back Ashton Jeanty, last year’s No. 6 pick, caught 55 passes for 346 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie,” Graziano writes. “Multiple people told me the team expects him to be a bigger part of the passing game this season.”

Jeanty was already a highly involved running back in the passing game. While he wasn’t getting 100+ targets like Christian McCaffrey or Bijan Robinson, Jeanty was a highly-involved player in the passing game.

His 346 yards and 55 receptions on 73 targets made for a strong season. He had more yards than Travis Etienne, D’Andre Swift, Rico Dowdle, Jaylen Warren, and Rhamondre Stevenson among RBs in the passing game.

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He ran the ball 266 times for 975 yards and five touchdowns, which wasn’t great. But, considering how bad the offensive line was, and how improved this year’s line should be, Jeanty should be in store for a 1,000-plus yard rushing season.

Now, add on that the Raiders plan to get Jeanty more involved in the passing game, and it’s looking like the sixth overall pick from a year ago could be in store for a mammoth season.

The 22-year-old running back is looking likely to have a huge season on tap, and Raiders fans should be excited to see just how good Jeanty can be with a more competent OL, coaching staff, and quarterback play in 2026.

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