Ashton Jeanty vs Trey McBride

“One player available at this spot with undeniable upside is Ashton Jeanty. When the Raiders selected him sixth overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, the expectations were tempered slightly because of where the Raiders were as an offense. What wasn't expected, though, was how dramatically bad the offense performed, starting with the offensive line, which ranked dead last in Pro Football Focus' (PFF) offensive line rankings.”

“He racked up over 1,200 yards and scored 10 times behind an abysmal offensive line. Now he gets Klint Kubiak as his head coach, bringing over an offensive system that helped Seattle win the Super Bowl. Expect Jeanty's efficiency to skyrocket if he keeps evading tackles as he did in 2025, when his juke rate (27.7%) ranked fifth among all running backs.”

“You can make a similar case for Ashton Jeanty, assuming the Raiders are better up front after their offseason additions and coaching changes and are better overall on offense with either Kirk Cousins or Fernando Mendoza at quarterback.”

“The Raiders' offensive line allowed Jeanty to get contacted at or behind the line of scrimmage on 54% of his carries, the league's second-worst rate.”

“Jeanty is a volatile pick who could fail to live up to the expectations that accompany his fantasy football ADP, despite a massive ceiling if the Raiders' offensive line gels and new quarterback Mendoza clicks right away.”

“Despite a massive workload last season, Jeanty was only the RB17 in half-PPR points per game (12.8) among running backs with at least eight games played, and volume alone won't assure Jeanty pans out and finishes as an RB6 or better this season.”

“It's going to be an uphill battle for Mike Washington to dominate backfield touches, given that the Raiders have an all-time running back prospect ahead of him with Ashton Jeanty.”

“Raiders RB coach Omar Young said the team has put RB Ashton Jeanty "in all different kinds of positions to see exactly what he can and cannot do."”

“Ashton Jeanty finished the 2025 season with 245.1 PPR points, one of only two rookies to score more than 215.0 points.”

“Ashton Jeanty was the only rookie to finish as an RB1 in PPR scoring, ending the year as the RB11.”

“Raiders HC Klint Kubiak says the team plans to challenge RB Ashton Jeanty in his sophomore season and put pressure on him in order to get the best out of last year's first-round pick. "We want to put a lot of pressure on Ashton," Kubiak said. "The next guy that steps up, whoever that may be, that's going to be seen here in practice, OTAs and training camp, but we think we should continue to challenge Ashton and get more out of him."”

“Fitzmaurice drafted Ashton Jeanty over Jonathan Taylor late in the first round. Fitz explained that Jeanty survived terrible offensive circumstances last season and still managed double-digit touchdowns. The expectation now is that Las Vegas will field a significantly improved rushing environment thanks to offensive line upgrades and a coaching staff expected to lean heavily on the run game.”

“McBride caught fire with positive touchdown regression while the Cardinals led the league in passing, and he ran 67 more routes than any tight end in at least 20 years.”

“He finished the season with 126 catches for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns on 169 targets. Among all pass catchers, McBride trailed only Puka Nacua in receptions. McBride also ranked third in targets among all pass catchers and tied for second in TD catches.”

“Last season, McBride averaged 18.6 PPR points per game. Five running backs and five wide receivers averaged more than 18.5 points per game in 2024, and 11 managed the same achievement in 2025. McBride caught fire with positive touchdown regression while the Cardinals led the league in passing, and he ran 67 more routes than any tight end in at least 20 years.”

“Whether you prefer Brock Bowers or Trey McBride doesn't really matter. Neither should be drafted this high. McBride caught fire with positive touchdown regression while the Cardinals led the league in passing, and he ran 67 more routes than any tight end in at least 20 years.”

“Trey McBride was first-team All-Pro after posting 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns.”

“Trey McBride was excited to have QB Jacoby Brissett back at practice at mandatory minicamp: "I feel like guys are excited that he was here. Guys want him to be here. Obviously, would love to have him in the building, but he's working through some things on his own. So we totally understand that. But you could just tell the presence that he brought today being in the building was awesome."”

“Trey McBride broke franchise records and officially stamped his mark as one of the best TEs in football. McBride racked up 315 PPR points, tying Travis Kelce's legendary 2022 season for the most at the position in over 15 years. Brissett absolutely unlocked him in the red zone, connecting for 10 TDs.”

“McBride caught fire with positive touchdown regression while the Cardinals led the league in passing, and he ran 67 more routes than any tight end in at least 20 years.”

“Last season, McBride averaged 18.6 PPR points per game, and Bowers averaged 15.5 in 2024, the better season of his two years in the NFL. It's incredibly hard for tight ends to score as highly as the top wide receivers and running backs, and both elite tight ends still have issues to face.”

“Trey McBride will continue to lead the way, but Yeboah could emerge as a backup ahead of the likes of Elijah Higgins, Tip Reiman, Teagan Quitoriano, Jameson Geers, and Rivaldo Fairweather.”

“He saw a truly absurd 1.93 end-zone targets per game, per the Fantasy Points Data Suite. No other player with as many games played was above 1.06 (Trey McBride).”

“The tight end position remains the toughest position to navigate in fantasy football, and if you don't pay up for a top stud like Brock Bowers and Trey McBride, finding the next mid-to-late-round breakout is key.”