It's been an offseason of change for the Las Vegas Raiders — from hiring Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly, to trading for Geno Smith and drafting Ashton Jeanty. But it doesn't sound like that change is going to extend to the rookie running back's signature pre-snap stance.
When Jeanty arrived to Raiders rookie minicamp, much was made about changing how the 5-foot-9 RB lines up. But according to Kelly, none of that had anything to do with him.
Chip Kelly clears the air on Ashton Jeanty’s stance change 🙌
(h/t @JesseNews3LV) pic.twitter.com/q1Th1YxuMr— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) May 30, 2025
"Let's get that clarified," the Raiders offensive coordinator began. "Deland McCullough, our running back coach, is in charge of stances, steps, alignments, assignments, and techniques. So he talked to him about that."
"I gave him an analogy of an athlete being in a bent knee position to make a play, and that kind of got blown into," he added. "I haven't told anybody on this team to be in any stances because I don't coach a position."
While Kelly admitted that he wasn't the driver of a potential stance change, he understands why the topic was broached.
"In any athletic sport you're playing, you've got to bend your knees. And if you've got to run a flat route on Fred Warner, you'd better be in a position to run, because that dude can fly," Kelly explained.
"So, all we're trying to do is put guys in positions to make plays. And he's adapted really well from going from here to here, so it literally is about three inches. So, I really don't think it's that big a deal," the former UCLA coach said. "But he's awesome, and he's such a coachable guy that you can do a lot of things with him. ... So, he's special."
Vegas selected Jeanty with the sixth overall pick in April's draft after rushing for over 2,600 yards and 29 touchdowns as a Boise State Bronco in 2024.
We'll see if he can be equally as dominant for the Silver and Black at the NFL level.
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