Silver And Black Pride
Growing pains from young NFL players are expected.
And the painful lessons the Las Vegas Raiders rookies experience should be of no surprise. Adapting to the complexity, physicality, and speed of the pro game coming from the collegiate landscape takes time. The acclimation period can be quicker or longer by the prospect, as are the frequency of initial struggles.
But they’re ideal for the Silver & Black — for both player and organization.
For the player, experience is vital. Live snaps — even with mistakes — are invaluable opportunities where teach tape is compiled. Trial by fire can be frowned upon especially if a draft pick struggles mightily, but live action cannot be replicated by practice, scout team, or even film study. The ability to play against NFL speed, power, and physicality, learn from mistakes and successes, and grow is what player development is all about.
For the organization — particularly the player personnel department — cataloging the development or lack thereof allows the group to plan further roster building. Either the GM and their scouts don’t need to worry about a particular position group or they need to drill deep to bolster areas of opportunity. Still, relying on rookies to grow is a foundation to building a core for any team.
From sixth overall pick Ashton Jeanty down to 22nd overall pick Cody Lindenberg, the nine rookies of of the 2025 draft class on the 53-man roster have either been regulars or finally being phases into action.
By The Numbers
Raiders Rookie 2025 Snap Counts
Arguably, no Raiders rookie has gone through growing pains like Jeanty. The Boise State running back leads the draft class in total snaps as a 14-game starter for the 2-12 Silver & Black. The 22-year-old tailback has 700 yards and four touchdowns on 200 carries and 266 yards and four more end zone visits on 49 receptions. Although, the talented runner hasn’t’ broken the 50-yard rushing mark the last three games with 31, 30, 35 as his rushing totals.
The naked eye can see that Jeanty doesn’t have much room to operate due to the Raiders offensive line. He’s swarmed by defenders either at or behind the line of scrimmage. But there are plays that could’ve been made, too.
“Yeah, I think, I mean, just for me personally, I’ve missed some plays and just growing pains of being a rookie, getting used to the game speed and all that type of...
