Browsing: Ashton

Replacement: S Nick Emmanwori

The Buffalo Bills had the right idea, just with the wrong position.

The organization needed to improve its secondary. The front office tried to do so by selecting cornerback Maxwell Hairston with the 30th overall pick.

Hairston has yet to play this season due to a knee injury. He’s set to return in the near future, but the issue with this selection doesn’t revolve around the cornerback’s inability to contribute up until this point.

Instead, the Bills went through this process with a bigger hole at safety than cornerback. Buffalo already had corners Christian Benford, Taron Johnson and the returning Tre’Davious White on the roster before selecting Hairston.

At safety, the Bills haven’t been set since the tandem of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer broke up two years ago. In fact, the Bills brought back the 34-year-old Poyer in late August to try and help the position. Last season, Damar Hamlin and Taylor Rapp struggled mightily. The organization planned to work Cole Bishop, whom the team selected in last year’s second round, into a bigger role during his sophomore campaign. Even so, nothing was settled and certainly not solved.

Buffalo should have chosen safety Nick Emmanwori with its first-round selection to give the team a potential difference-maker in the secondary. Hairston may have enough upside to grow into an elite cover corner, but he’s also not the most physical defensive back. Whereas, Emmanwori brings even more upside to the table, with the versatility, size, athleticism and physicality to completely rewire an entire secondary, as he’s starting to do with the Seattle Seahawks.

Corner certainly holds a higher positional value compared to safety when all things are considered equal. In the Bills’ case, the issue at safety far outweighed another investment in a cornerback.

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Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty had the best game of his young career in Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, and he feels a return to his usual stance deserves the credit.

Jeanty was asked about bringing back his viral “Michael Myers” stance while speaking to reporters on Wednesday, and he had a simple explanation.

“Sometimes you just have to prove that something can work, that’s all it is,” he said.

Jeanty finished with 138 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries plus two catches for 17 yards and two more scores in the Raiders’ 25-24 loss to the Bengals.

The 21-year-old explained that he prefers to stand straight up in the backfield rather than using a typical running back stance.

“It came about [during] my junior year of college, just kind of did it,” he said. “Coaches will always tell you to do the more bent stance, but I don’t know, I just feel more comfortable that way, more relaxed, just reading the defense. I can’t really explain it more different than that, but that’s just what I do.”

Jeanty added that he understands when there’s pushback about his unique stance, but he’s always ready to convert any non-believers and prove he can excel.

“I just think it’s different, so a lot of time when something’s different, it doesn’t always come off to people that it could work that way,” Jeanty said. “But it works, so no need to change it.”

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Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has been impressed with Las Vegas Raiders rookie running back Ashton Jeanty.

“He’s a phenomenal player,” Johnson said, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “I thought the world of him. He’s a hard guy to bring down, compact yet powerful. You better have low pad level when you’re looking to tackle this guy or else he’s going to lower his shoulder and run you over. He’s got that mentality, he brought it with him from college. You see it in the first three games of the season so far. He’s fearless, he sees a little bit of air, he steps on the gas, and he plays violently.”

He added that the Bears will attempt to “bottle him up” during a Week 4 matchup with Jeanty and the Raiders.

Chicago was linked to the running back throughout the pre-draft process before Las Vegas ended up selecting him at No. 6 overall, four picks before the Bears were on the clock.

Jeanty was coming off an impressive junior season at Boise State, leading the country with 2,601 rush yards and finishing No. 2 in Heisman Trophy voting.

His individual production to open his rookie year with the Raiders has fallen below expectations, rushing for 144 yards and one touchdown while averaging 3.1 yards per carry.

Still, it’s worth noting that Jeanty has routinely faced multiple defenders in the backfield through his first three games. His 13 broken tackles are the most among running backs this season, while his 93 yards after contact rank No. 12 in the NFL (via Pro Football Reference).

Jeanty is still clearly a threat within Las Vegas’ offense, and Johnson has taken notice.

Kickoff between the Bears and Raiders is on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET.

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A lackluster offensive showing from Geno Smith, Ashton Jeanty and the Las Vegas Raiders led to a 20-9 loss to Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night in Vegas.

Smith struggled throughout the night, completing 24-of-43 passes for 180 yards with three interceptions and three sacks. Jeanty, the Raiders’ No. 6 overall pick, saw limited usage, finishing with 43 yards on 11 carries. Jakobi Meyers led the receiving corps with six catches for 68 yards.

Meanwhile, Herbert completed 19-of-27 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with both Keenan Allen for a score and 54 yards and Quentin Johnston who had 71 yards for a score. The Chargers improved to 2-0.

With the loss, the Raiders dropped to 1-1. Fans expressed frustration over the offense’s lack of production, the turnovers and the minimal involvement of Jeanty in the game plan.

Smith was intercepted on the game’s first play by linebacker Daiyan Henley, setting up a 38-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker. After the Raiders tied it with a 54-yard field goal from Daniel Carlson, Herbert found Allen for a touchdown late in the first quarter to take a 10-3 lead.

Las Vegas added another field goal early in the second, but Herbert responded with a 60-yard touchdown strike to Johnston to make it 17-6. Smith was picked off again before halftime, this time by safety Tony Jefferson, as the Chargers took the lead into the break.

Dicker added another field goal in the third to stretch the lead to 20-6. The Raiders controlled the clock with an 11-minute drive that ended in a field goal, but their offense stalled again late. After a turnover on downs gave Las Vegas a short field, Smith threw his third interception, this one grabbed by cornerback Donte Jackson, ending the comeback bid.

Despite a late-game fumble forced by a big hit from Maxx Crosby, the Raiders failed to capitalize, and the Chargers held on to cruise to the win.

The Raiders will look to bounce back against Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders on the road on Sunday.

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