We’ve known since early this season that yards have been difficult to come by for Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders’ sixth overall pick rookie at one point this season had more yards after contact than he had actual rushing yards. And while that’s a difficult stat to maintain, things haven’t really improve much for him in terms of running lanes.
Just how bad has it been? As bad as it gets. By a wide margin.
Jeanty has been stuffed for no gain or a loss on nearly a third of his runs this season according to Next Gen Stats. That’s more than six percent higher than the next guy on the list and more than 10% higher than fifth on the list.
This stat speaks volumes about how bad the blocking and schemes have been for the Raiders this year. Because one thing Jeanty has proven he can do is break tackles. Rarely is the first defender able to get him down. Which means in many of these cases, he is met by multiple defenders at or behind the line.
Lately the Raiders have tried to make up for their issues with blocking by getting Jeanty out in space. Whether it’s pitch plays, swing passes, or otherwise. And they’ve had marginal success with it. But that too can lead to big losses due to Jeanty getting ball even farther behind the line. And no team can live on that alone. And with the pass blocking being as bad as it is, teams are just loading up and sending the house on every play.
