Boise State Professional Athletes

Ashton Jeanty didn't ease into the NFL. He bulldozed through it.

The former Boise State Heisman finalist turned in one of the most complete running back performances of Week 1, carrying 23 times for 102 yards, hauling in six catches for 45 more, and finding the end zone twice through the air as the Las Vegas Raiders beat the Miami Dolphins 27-13. His 147 yards from scrimmage led the entire Raiders offense — and that includes every wide receiver on the roster. It was his third career 100-yard rushing game, and it came on the league's biggest stage with a new coaching staff leaning on him from snap one.

The performance wasn't just statistically loud. It signaled a structural shift in how Las Vegas intends to operate under first-year head coach Klint Kubiak. Jeanty played 50 snaps and earned a 71.0 PFF grade, and he was, by a wide margin, the Raiders' most dangerous offensive weapon on the day. Kubiak's offense was built around Jeanty's skillset — the scheme gave him room that simply didn't exist in Year 1 — and the results were immediate. Raiders offensive coordinator Andrew Janocko has been vocal about the team's commitment to their backfield, and Jeanty made sure that message landed.

One wrinkle heading into Week 2: All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers is listed as doubtful after a knee meniscus procedure, which figures to make Jeanty an even more central figure in the offense against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. The Chargers have already delivered their own public acknowledgment of the threat Jeanty poses — a notable bit of bulletin-board material as Las Vegas looks to go 2-0.

Shakir Quietly Productive in Buffalo

While Jeanty was grabbing headlines in the desert, Khalil Shakir was doing steady work in Buffalo. The Bills wideout posted four catches for 50 yards in a Week 1 win over the Houston Texans, then followed it up with three catches for 38 yards in a Thursday night victory over the Detroit Lions, 41-31. Shakir isn't the centerpiece of Buffalo's passing attack, but he's a reliable contributor on a Super Bowl-contending roster — and with records in sight for several Bills players, his role in that offense is worth watching down the stretch.

Around the Rest of the Alumni Network

The week was quieter for most other Broncos-turned-pros. John Bates caught two passes for 13 yards for Washington in a narrow 24-22 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1 — a game where every yard mattered. Ahmed Hassanein was ruled inactive for Detroit's Week 1 game against the Saints, a setback for the Lions defensive end as he looks to carve out a roster role. JL Skinner was on the field for Denver but the Broncos were blown out 31-10 by Kansas City — not a week any Bronco wants to revisit.

The Boise State pipeline into the NFL has never been deeper, but right now there's only one name that matters most: Jeanty. At Las Vegas, in Kubiak's system, with a full season ahead, the Broncos' most celebrated recent export looks ready to make good on every bit of the hype.

Ashton Jeanty: Bronco Nation's Marquee Moment

The moment Boise State fans have been circling since April is still on — ankle and all.

Ashton Jeanty, the Raiders' first-round rookie running back and the most decorated Bronco to enter the NFL in years, is expected to play in Las Vegas's Week 1 opener against the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 13, according to multiple reports. Head coach Klint Kubiak expressed optimism at his Wednesday press conference, and general manager John Spytek went further, saying Jeanty could return "quicker than some people would expect" — language that, in NFL-speak, borders on encouraging.

The concern began Aug. 23, when Jeanty reportedly sprained his ankle during practice. He was absent from Tuesday's practice that week, and the Raiders initially offered only that he was "on the mend." For a franchise that has staked its offensive identity on the Heisman finalist, the radio silence was unsettling. But Kubiak's tone shifted noticeably by midweek, and Spytek said Jeanty was in a "good spot" — even without attaching a firm timeline.

That the Raiders are projecting confidence rather than caution ahead of Week 1 is the headline for Bronco fans. Jeanty's NFL debut, against a Dolphins defense he'll be asked to run through from snap one, was already one of the more anticipated rookie moments of the 2026 season. A healthy Jeanty changes Las Vegas's offensive ceiling; a limited one changes the calculus entirely.

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Around the League: Two More Broncos in the News

Jeanty isn't the only Boise State product drawing attention this week.

In Buffalo, wide receiver Khalil Shakir — Josh Allen's most reliable underneath target — was held out of practice Wednesday with an injury, joining a list of worrisome Bills absences headed into the season opener. Shakir's availability for Week 1 is unclear, and his absence is drawing real concern in Buffalo given how heavily the offense leans on him in the short and intermediate passing game.

In Seattle, running back George Holani finds himself on a Seahawks roster navigating its own backfield uncertainty. With lead back Zach Charbonnet opening the season on the short-term injured list, Seattle enters Week 1 against the New England Patriots with Jadarian Price, Holani, and Emanuel Wilson as their three active backs. Price is projected as the primary ball-carrier, but Holani — another former Bronco — is positioned to contribute with carries potentially available in a fluid situation.

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Three Boise State alumni, three storylines worth watching as the 2026 NFL season kicks off. Jeanty's debut is the one Bronco fans will have their eyes fixed on, but the depth of blue-and-orange representation across the league is a reminder of just how far the program's NFL pipeline has extended.

The Scare

Boise State fans held their breath for most of the week. On Sunday, Aug. 23, Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty was helped off the practice field unable to bear weight on his right leg after landing awkwardly during a training camp drill. The images were jarring — a second-year back who had become the centerpiece of Las Vegas' offensive identity, suddenly being carted away with the regular season on the horizon.

The diagnosis landed hours later: a sprained ankle. Not the torn ligament nightmare the worst-case speculation had conjured, but serious enough that Jeanty missed significant practice time through the week and set off a flurry of contingency planning around the league.

The Fallout

Head coach Klint Kubiak was characteristically tight-lipped in the immediate aftermath. Asked Tuesday for clarity on Jeanty's severity, Kubiak offered little, saying only that the running back was "on the mend." The vagueness fueled speculation — fantasy managers scrambled, trade proposal think-pieces multiplied, and Cowboys fans briefly re-emerged to float Maxx Crosby trade rumors, apparently as a response to the Raiders' perceived vulnerability.

Jeanty's backup, rookie Mike Washington Jr., suddenly found himself in the spotlight. With the Raiders thin at the position behind their star, Washington became the subject of genuine depth-chart scrutiny for the first time in his young pro career.

The Relief

By the time Las Vegas wrapped up its preseason slate on Thursday, the tone had shifted. Kubiak stated plainly: "We're counting on Ashton Jeanty for Week 1." That declaration, more than anything else from the week, gave Bronco Nation the exhale it had been waiting for.

Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, enters his second season with expectations that go well beyond raw rushing numbers. He arrived in Las Vegas as a Heisman finalist who rewrote the Boise State record book, and the Raiders built their offensive identity around him from day one. The Year 2 bar, per reporting this week, centers on rounding out his game — improved pass protection, expanded route running, and cementing his status as a complete backfield weapon rather than just an elite ball carrier.

The ankle sprain is a reminder of how fragile those plans can be. But for now, the prognosis is good, the coaching staff is confident, and the former Bronco is expected to be under the lights for the Raiders' Week 1 opener. The scare was real. The relief, for the moment, is too.