Ashton Jeanty vs Lamar Jackson

“I nearly clicked Zay Flowers with my second pick, and probably should have because he is in line for a huge 2026, but I instead grabbed my first running back in Ashton Jeanty, who should benefit from an upgraded offensive line and an offense-minded head coach in Klint Kubiak.”

“Ashton Jeanty (RB – LV) I could not have been more hyped for Ashton Jeanty heading into the 2025 season”

“With Klint Kubiak in town, Fernando Mendoza or Kirk Cousins at the helm, a healthy Brock Bowers , and improved blocking up front, Jeanty could be poised to post a strong RB1 season in his second season.”

“Ashton Jeanty had 100% of the backfield rushes from inside of the 5-yard line as a rookie, but he only had 9 rushes from that area of the field.”

“Ashton Jeanty will be seen as a disappointment for fantasy managers exiting his rookie season. It wasn’t a failure, but you can make the argument that, because of his talent and the hype, it didn’t live up to lofty expectations. Jeanty was the RB15 in fantasy points per game, finishing with 321 touches and 1,321 total yards.”

“Ashton Jeanty is entering his sophomore season with an improved situation. First and foremost, the Raiders hired Klint Kubiak as head coach, giving them one of the best play-callers in the NFL.”

“Last season, Jeanty was fifth in snap share at running back and first in backfield opportunity shares. If this usage continues, all we need is for the offense to take a step forward to have a huge season.”

“He now has a new head coach in Klint Kubiak, one of the rising offensive minds in the NFL. More importantly, the Raiders also bolstered the offensive line by adding All-Pro Tyler Linderbaum (BAL). If Jeanty was able to produce average numbers in a dysfunctional offense, he should be capable of producing above-average numbers in a functional one.”

“Ashton Jeanty may be the player I'm most excited to see on the field again. Jeanty was a can't-miss prospect who had a tumultuous first season. Despite the circumstances, Jeanty still finished as a high-end RB2, averaging 14 FPPG.”

“Ashton Jeanty will be seen as a disappointment for fantasy managers exiting his rookie season. The ecosystem surrounding Jeanty stunk. The Raiders were 31st in red zone scoring attempts per game and 30th in yards per play.”

“Last season, Ashton Jeanty eventually finished as the RB12, but he started slowly and, after the first three weeks, was the RB33.”

“Jeanty dealt with that contact fairly well, ranking 17th in yards after contact per attempt, and almost two-thirds of his 975 yards came after contact. Getting close to 1,000 yards in that environment is admirable, and with Tyler Linderbaum resetting the center market and left tackle Kolton Miller healthy, the Raiders will have enough pieces on this offensive line to be a marked upgrade.”

“Lamar Jackson , Jayden Daniels , Joe Burrow , Baker Mayfield , and Kyler Murray all were selected as top-12 players at the position and finished double-digit slots behind expectations in terms of points per game.”

“If Lamar Jackson can bounce back, Henry could inch back closer to his 2024 production (RB4 in fantasy points per game).”

“Injuries and a steep decline in rushing production cratered Lamar Jackson ‘s fantasy value in 2025. After finishing QB1 in fantasy scoring in 2024, Jackson plummeted to a QB20 fantasy finish last season and was QB16 in fantasy points per game at the position. Jackson lost three games to an early-season hamstring injury and one game to a late-season back injury.”

“Lamar Jackson cratered many fantasy rosters in 2025. Before an early October hamstring injury, he was on pace for 3,700 passing yards, 437 rushing yards, and 47 total TDs.”

“The most obvious thing to consider is your positional strengths and weaknesses — trading for Lamar Jackson when you already have Josh Allen probably isn’t a good idea.”

“If you want an elite QB, pocket your picks for a round and a half and take Lamar Jackson, instead.”

“There isn’t a single drafted player on the Ravens that goes higher than I would take them, with Lamar Jackson standing out as the single best 1QB value I have ever seen if you want to get a top-two quarterback, going at pick 46, 19 picks past QB1, Josh Allen.”

“With plenty of time to recover from last season, Jackson is a ticking time bomb for fantasy production.”

“Things did not go well for Lamar Jackson in 2025, but he still displayed his ceiling early on before injuries started to stack up.”

“For what it’s worth, Lamar did speak highly of Doyle’s offense this spring, saying: “ It’s a different system than what I’m accustomed to being in, and I feel like there’s going to be a lot of explosiveness this year.”

“The case for Lamar staying near the top of the market: he’s not even 30 years old, he was still playing at an elite level in weeks one and two last season before his injury in week three derailed the rest of his year, and he has never failed to have an MVP-caliber first season under a new play caller, which is exactly the situation he’s in again this year.”

“Jackson's 2025 performance was marred by injury and a subpar level of play (by his standards). Therefore, while he has tremendous leverage by virtue of the restructure and the $84.34MM cap number it created for 2027, he may want to come to the negotiating table on the heels of a better season.”