The Las Vegas Raiders selected running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 pick in the NFL draft on Thursday, making the former Boise State Broncos star the highest-drafted running back since Saquon Barkley in 2018.

Las Vegas had the worst rushing offense in the NFL last season, averaging a meager 79.8 yards per game.

The Raiders and new coach Pete Carroll will hope for a big boost from Jeanty, who led the nation with 2,601 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns last season for the Broncos. He finished as the runner-up to Colorado’s Travis Hunter in Heisman Trophy voting.

Now Jeanty has become the highest-drafted player ever from Boise State.

Barkley was the No. 2 overall pick in 2018, when the Giants took him out of Penn State. Other high-pick running backs since have included Josh Jacobs (No. 24 in 2019), Najee Harris (No. 24 in 2021), Bijan Robinson (No. 8 in 2023) and Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 12 in 2023).

— Joel Odom writes about trending topics in news, life and culture, and sports. Reach him at 503-221-8594, [email protected] or @jkodom on Blue Sky.