What held Ashton Jeanty back from better NFL debut? Raiders’ Pete Carroll explains rookie RB’s shortcomings

Carroll said Jeanty will ‘play way better’

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty’s highly anticipated NFL debut was not as explosive as some expected from the No. 6 overall pick. He found end zone in the team’s 20-13 win over the New England Patriots, but finished with 19 carries for just 38 yards. Raiders coach Pete Carroll knows Jeanty can be “way better.”

“Ashton, he was a little, he was hyped. He was jacked up,” Carroll said during his press conference. “He would tell you, I would think, that he wished he would have been a little more patient on some reads and things like that.”

The head coach did not appear worried about Jeanty’s longterm production.

“That will come. He didn’t look like that in preseason,” Carroll said. “This game, being out there and being called on to play, carry the ball 19 times or whatever, it was a little bit different for him. And he’ll play way better. He’ll see things more clearly. I know he’s a little frustrated by that.”

In Week 1, Jeanty ran for 2.0 yards per carry, compared to an average of 3.1 yards per carry in the preseason.

Even without the most from their promising first rounder, the Raiders got the win against a Patriots team that looked flat. The Raiders face a more difficult task next week when they play the Los Angeles Chargers, who come off a win over the Kansas City Chiefs.