With Ashton Jeanty working with Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, there's no doubt fans are excited for the first-round pick to make an immediate impact right from the jump. As the Raiders' offense looks different with quarterback Geno Smith, Jeanty adds a different dynamic, which Kelly explains when speaking to the media on Thursday.

Jeanty was taken with the sixth overall pick out of Boise State, where he was labeled as one of the most talented prospects at the running back position in recent memory. Kelly would speak about why that is, as one aspect is his ability to “sustain runs off of contact,” according to the team's YouTube page.

“Ashton [Jeanty] is as talented at back as a young guy coming in the league that I've seen. He's really special,” Kelly said. “His ability to sustain runs off of contact, his contact balance is kind of a really rare quality. He's got a low center of gravity, you know. And I think it's tough to get him down. And normally the first guy doesn't, and you look at all of the tape of his games last year, and it didn't matter who he played because they [Boise State] obviously played in the Mountain West.”

“But when he played the Oregons, and he played the Penn States,” Kelly continued. “You look at how he performed in those games, and I think sometimes you get caught up in just looking at the numbers, but I think it was like 35 missed tackles he created in the Penn State game.”

Raiders' Chip Kelly examines Ashton Jeanty's college career

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As Pete Carroll hired Kelly to be the Raiders' offensive coordinator, he's coming off a stint at the college level where he was UCLA's head coach from 2018-2023, then was Ohio State's offensive coordinator in 2024, winning a national title. Being inside the college football landscape, it was hard not to notice Jeanty's outstanding production, leading to him being a Heisman Trophy finalist.

“Now, Penn State's defense, we played against them, they're outstanding,” Kelly said. “You know, that was a little bit different league for Boise at that time, but not for Ashton in terms of what he did. So excited to see him. It's different, obviously, as we know during OTAs, because it's not tackle. We're not taking guys to the ground. I don't think he'll get tackled till we get to our first preseason game, but you know, I'm really excited. The one thing about him is he's a really quick learner. Really excited to work with him.”

At any rate, Jeanty looks to boost Las Vegas' running game as they open the season in Week 1 against the New England Patriots.