When the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 pick, Pete Carroll could've easily found his next big running back.
Carroll's no stranger to coaching elite talent at the running back position. The most notable running back to play for Carroll? Marshawn Lynch.
Lynch, who played for Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks from 2010-15 and '19, was pretty excited to see the Raiders selecting Jeanty in the first round. In fact, he kept calling his former coach that Thursday night to let Carroll know how "fired up" he was.
Caroll even drew some comparisons between Lynch and Jeanty when speaking about the running backs after the draft.
“He’s been calling all evening here about it, he’s pretty fired up,” Carroll said that Thursday night, via Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein. “Throughout his career, [Lynch] found a physical way to bank off people and bounce and just keep alive. [Jeanty]’s a player who shows that kind of style—that’s one aspect of his style, the burst and other things he does as well. There are similarities in his ability to make plays when it doesn’t feel like anything is there.”
Could Jeanty be Carroll's next Lynch? It's definitely possible.
Jeanty is coming off a historic collegiate season in 2024 with Boise State. He finished second in Heisman Trophy voting behind Colorado's Travis Hunter, who had the smallest margin of victory for the award since 2009. He did win the Doak Walker Award for most outstanding running back. Jeanty rushed for 2,601 yards this year, the second-most yards in a season in NCAA history and a Mountain West record. Jeanty sits behind Barry Sanders by just 27 yards for the NCAA record.
Lynch finished his 12-year career with 10,413 rushing yards (the 30th most in NFL history) and 85 touchdowns in 149 games.
We'll see if Jeanty can mimic the success Lynch had in Seattle with Carroll, but this time with Carroll in Las Vegas.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pete Carroll Reveals Marshawn Lynch's Reaction to Raiders Drafting Ashton Jeanty.
