Raiders HC Klint Kubiak talked about using RB Ashton Jeanty as a workhorse back in May. Since then, Jeanty suffered an ankle injury and RB Mike Washington has impressed in preseason action. That might have Kubiak rethinking his backfield plans.
What They're Saying
Here's Kubiak when asked on Friday about the split between Jeanty and Washington: "I think they're both going to prepare to play a lot of football and as these games unfold, you react to the game. ... I think we got two guys that we're really excited about. ... They just got to make the most of every rep that they get. Not making any promises on percentages of play time."
2026 Fantasy Football Impact
This sounds akin to a "hot hand" situation that might change from week to week.
We'd still be shocked if a healthy Jeanty didn't easily lead this backfield in work. But there's a big difference between a RB who gets 80% of the touches vs. one who lands in the 60% to 70% range. The former could make Jeanty a top-5 fantasy back. The latter would more likely leave him as a low-end RB1 or high-end RB2.
It's another concern for Jeanty's 2026 fantasy value, on top of the ankle. His ADP has fallen to RB9 at 15th overall, but that's still earlier than we're willing to take him right now.
Washington, meanwhile, is locked in as Jeanty's handcuff. We still wouldn't bet on bankable value behind a healthy Jeanty, but Kubiak's comments at least keep that possibility alive.
