The Las Vegas Raiders got exactly what the doctor ordered with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Despite having numerous issues last year, perhaps none plagued the team more than their league-worst 79.8 rushing yards per game.
Generational running back prospect Ashton Jeanty is now a Raider, which means that head coach Pete Carroll has his new version of Marshawn Lynch.
Jeanty is the most highly anticipated rookie for the Silver and Black in recent memory. He'll open up his career against the Patriots in Week 1, but will have his first marquee matchup the following week on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Chargers, a bitter AFC West rival.
However, CBS Sports recently released [its list](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-top-10-rookie-matchups-on-2025-nfl-schedule-cam-ward-vs-tyler-shough-and-others/) of the most highly anticipated rookie matchups of the 2025 NFL season. For them, Jeanty's most important rookie matchup was in Week 12, when the team takes on the Cleveland Browns and second-round linebacker Carson Schwesinger.
This was certainly an interesting choice, as these two players and franchises have very little to do with each other outside of the late-season matchup.
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The most intriguing portion of this faceoff is that the Raiders' offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, recruited Schwesinger as a walk-on at UCLA back when he was the head coach for the Bruins. Now, theyll face off at the NFL level, but Jeanty has very little to do with it.
Another first-rounder like the Eagles' Jihaad Campbell or the Giants' Abdul Carter might have made more sense in this scenario, but the article was filled with flaws anyway. The writer asserted that another exciting matchup was between Campbell and Broncos running back Omarion Hampton. The problem with this assertion is that Hampton plays for the Chargers, not the Broncos.
It will be some time before Raider Nation can enjoy this "matchup" between these young players. Ideally, Jeanty is firmly in control of the Offensive Rookie of the Year race at this point in the season, and a dominant performance against Schwesinger continues to build his case.