Raiders' bold Ashton Jeanty pick should put one troubling rumor to rest

The first seven picks of the 2025 NFL Draft were largely expected. Although nobody saw the Jacksonville Jaguars trading up to No. 2 in a deal with the Cleveland Browns from No. 5, Jacksonville still took Colorado superstar Travis Hunter, and Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham still went where we thought he would go. The same thing applies to Ashton Jeanty going No. 6 overall as well.

The Doak Walker winner joins the Las Vegas Raiders after a stellar college football career at Boise State. He may have been unheralded coming out of high school, but this former Army brat is poised to make some noise as potentially the next Emmitt Smith of the NFL, but with far more breakaway speed. This is why I would not want to leave the Raiders if I was their offensive tackle Kolton Miller.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Miller was not an active participant in the Raiders' voluntary offseason program earlier this month. He has spent his entire pro career with the Silver and Black out of UCLA. He is entering a contract year with the Raiders and seems to want a long-term deal to stay. Now that the Raiders have added Jeanty, all signs point to them running the football with conviction.

A seven-year starter and former first-round pick, Miller has not had contract talks with the Raiders. And not to say that he lost all leverage with this No. 6 overall pick, but he should be more inclined to stay now.

What should we expect out of the Raiders in their first season with Pete Carroll as their head coach and Ashton Jeanty on the roster?

Ashton Jeanty is all the reason Kolton Miller needs to stick with Raiders

Right now, I would argue firmly that the Raiders are in the worst shape of any team in the deep AFC West. However, I would also argue that they are trending up quite nicely since hiring Carroll to be their next head coach. Getting John Spytek to come over from Tampa to run the front office is a huge plus as well. Things are starting to come together in Southern Nevada, but their three rivals are just better.

Conversely, the Kansas City Chiefs look vulnerable, and do we really trust the Denver Broncos or the Los Angeles Chargers going forward? What I am getting at is the Raiders have the potential to turn this rocking ship around in a hurry. Trading for Geno Smith in a deal with the Seattle Seahawks gives them some stability at the quarterback position they have not had since moving on from Derek Carr.

In time, the Raiders may be feisty, but this still feels like a team destined to finish in the bottom half of the deep AFC. Keep in mind they did not hire Carroll to rebuild; they are hoping to win now. By adding Jeanty to the backfield, it lets me know that the Raiders are planning on playing like the Seahawks from yesteryear. The Carroll era of Seattle football was a lot of fun, so I am bullish on the Raiders now.

Of course, losing a great player like Miller in free agency would not be ideal for the Raiders' future.