Many Chicago Bears fans have come around to the idea of drafting Ashton Jeanty. Taking a running back in the 1st round seems counterintuitive these days. Players at that position rarely stay productive beyond their 30th birthday. That, along with the ability to find good ones in later rounds, makes using such a high selection illogical. However, there are always exceptions to the rule. Many feel if the player is talented enough, their positional value shouldn’t matter. Sometimes, taking a great player must supersede everything else.
Jeanty just had one of the best rushing seasons in college football history, narrowly missing Barry Sanders’ single-season record. He is the consensus top running back in a loaded class and believed to be in the same category as Saquon Barkley was years ago. His coming to Chicago to play in Ben Johnson’s offense sounds like such a natural progression. Unfortunately, recent comments from Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek suggest they may not get the chance.
Ashton Jeanty to the Raiders is a poorly kept secret.
They’ve been the projected landing spot for the running back for almost two months. It isn’t hard to see why. Las Vegas still hasn’t found a legitimate replacement for Josh Jacobs, who left to join the Packers last year in free agency. New head coach Pete Carroll is a well-known proponent of running the football, as he proved with Reggie Bush at USC and Marshawn Lynch in Seattle. The idea of putting Ashton Jeanty behind Geno Smith has to seem appealing from his perspective.
Nothing is set in stone. There are always twists and turns in the draft. Still, the rumors in recent weeks and now Spytek’s comments make it clear many expect the Raiders to pick the star running back. If that happens, the Bears have some interesting decisions to make once they go on the clock at #10. It would explain why left tackle is seemingly gaining traction among local insiders.
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