Ashton Jeanty pipedream looks finished as team decides to shift focus

The Las Vegas Raiders reportedly are moving on from drafting star running back Ashton Jeanty in the first round.

The Raiders hold the sixth overall pick and have been linked to Jeanty to add a weapon to their offense. However, with the draft just one day away, NFL insider Dianna Russini of The Athletic revealed it’s unlikely they will select Jeanty at six as the team is focused on adding to its offensive line.

“The Raiders, led by first-time general manager John Spytek, spent substantial time doing homework on Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, but strong cases are being made in their draft room to go offensive line instead,” Russini wrote.

Jeanty was a popular landing spot for Las Vegas in mock drafts, but that doesn’t appear to be the case anymore. Instead, the Raiders are looking to solidify their offensive line.

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With the Raiders looking to add to their offensive line, ESPN draft analyst Peter Schrager has Las Vegas selecting offensive tackle, Armand Membou out of Missouri.

“New general manager John Spytek was in the Tampa Bay front office when the Bucs struck gold with Tristan Wirfs in 2020. Membou at No. 6 isn’t too early,” Schrager wrote.

As Schrager notes, Membou is likely a landing spot at six overall for the Raiders.

Raiders GM opens up on potentially selecting Ashton Jeanty

Las Vegas Raiders general manager John Spytek created some buzz when he talked about the team potentially selecting Ashton Jeanty at six overall.

During a press conference ahead of the draft, Spytek said running backs are important and isn’t of the believe that you shouldn’t use an early pick on them.

“I’m gonna be careful about talking about any specific player,” Spytek said, via NFL.com. “But, more broadly to the running back question, I mean, we just saw Saquon Barkley just change the Eagles in one year. Now they had a great team around him, and it was adding an elite player. I think when you sit where we sit, the idea is to add elite players at any position. I don’t try to devalue any certain position.”

Jeanty was a star player at Boise State last season and helped the Broncos reach the college football playoff. Last season, Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards on 74 carries and 29 touchdowns.

The 2025 NFL Draft is set for April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

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Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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