Ashton Jeanty Fantasy Football Breakout Is Upon Us
Fantasy

Ashton Jeanty Fantasy Football Breakout Is Upon Us

Ian Hartitz examines how running back Ashton Jeanty could be one of the fantasy football breakout stars in 2026.

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Some of the most disappointed fantasy managers last season were those who spent a first-round pick on Ashton Jeanty. The talent level was definitely there. It's just the offensive environment ... left something to be desired. To put it kindly. But 2026 is a new year, and is it the time for Jeanty to become one of the fantasy football breakouts in 2026? Ian Hartitz breaks it down in the Las Vegas Raiders Team Preview.

Is Ashton Jeanty poised to erupt in Year 2?

It'd be pretty cool if he did. There were some fun flashes in Year 2 in blowup performances against the Bears (155 yards, 3 TDs) and Texans (188 yards, 2 TDs), but ultimately PPR RB16 production on a per-game basis wasn't exactly what drafters had in mind considering his pricey RB6 pre-draft ADP.

And yet, it's hard not to assign most of the blame for Jeanty's relatively mid rookie campaign to the team's lackluster scheme and offensive line. Consider …

  • OC Chip Kelly was fired after just 11 games into his tenure.
  • The Raiders came in at 26th in my "Running Back Supporting Cast Rating." This was highlighted by 31st-place ranks in RB yards before contact per carry. Only Browns RBs had worse runways in 2025.

Here's the other thing: Jeanty was quite awesome with the rare opportunities when he had a clear path to at least get to the line of scrimmage. The chart below shows running back performance in terms of yards after contact and tackles avoided per carry when given the benefit of gaining at least *1* yard before contact.

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Translation: Jeanty looked a lot like one of the league's best running backs whenever he wasn't getting mauled behind the line of scrimmage as soon as he got the football. Now, it's not exactly guaranteed that the 2026 Raiders will offer significant upgrades in the same QB, scheme, and offensive line departments that helped keep Jeanty in check for most of last season, but there's at least reason for optimism across those categories, and we at least know that, 1.) Jeanty is indeed capable of breaking tackles with the best of them at the NFL level, and 2.) He should (again) have more than enough opportunities to touch the football if Fantasy Life Projections are on to anything.

Ultimately, Jeanty is my RB8 behind only fellow talented ballers in better offenses like James Cook, Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley and Kenneth Walker. I would ride with Jeanty ahead of guys like Chase Brown, De'Von Achane and Omarion Hampton as a bet on talent with those guys at least facing some additional questions in the workload department.

Also note: Mike Washington looks a lot like the next man up here considering Dylan Laube has almost exclusively been a special teamer/pass-down specialist during his short NFL career. While there are questions surrounding Washington's vision and ability to master "the little things" at the position, the man is a FREAK athlete who sure looks to be one injury away from looking at 15-plus touches per game. Not a bad late-round dart to throw at the end of a draft.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. AshtonJeanty
    RBLVLV
    PPG
    12.7
    Proj
    226.8

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