Who Should I Start? Ashton Jeanty or Jaydon Blue

Friday, June 13, 1:04 PM

The Las Vegas Raiders took running back Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick in April's NFL draft, but head coach Pete Carroll hints that the first-year back could be part of a committee backfield in 2025. "I love having multiple guys play," Carroll said. "I'm not relying on one guy, you know." Aside from Jeanty, the Raiders have Raheem Mostert, Zamir White and Sincere McCormick at the position. While the Raiders will rely on multiple backs, it's hard not to see Jeanty being the primary option after he had 2,601 yards in his final season at Boise State in 2024. Vegas' 1,357 rushing yards last year were dead-last in the NFL. "Ashton looks every bit what we had hoped he would look like," Carroll said. Despite what Carroll is saying, Jeanty is going to be drafted as a top-five RB going into his rookie season as one of the position's best all-around prospects in many years.

Monday, May 12, 4:24 PM

The Athletic's Jon Machota writes that he thinks Dallas Cowboys running backs Javonte Williams, Jaydon Blue, Miles Sanders and Phil Mafah will end up getting almost all of the backfield work for the team in 2025. Machota sees Williams being the leader early in the season, but eventually the rookie Blue will get more carries and lead the team in rushing. Machota thinks that by the end of the year, Blue, a fifth-round pick this year, will be their No. 1 RB. The 21-year-old Texas product is staying in state and will bring much-needed speed to Dallas' backfield this year. The 5-foot-9, 196-pounder isn't all that big, but he should complement the power of both Williams and Sanders well and provide a nice change-of-pace option with some pass-catching upside. Volume will certainly be a concern early on in Blue's rookie season, but he's not a bad late-round sleeper target for fantasy managers that wait at the position.