Paul Gutierrez

Did you hear it? Could you feel it?

Moments before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the Raiders' first-round selection Thursday night, a dull roar crested into cheers and, yes shrieks, deep in the heart of the Raiders' facility.

The Raiders had their man.

And the excitement wasn't just at team headquarters.

Because after Goodell announced Ashton Jeanty coming to Las Vegas at No. 6 overall, the Raiders hitting that hard-to-find intersection of need and best player available also sent equal waves of relief and joy throughout Raider Nation.

They didn't reach.

They didn't overthink it.

They made the sensible pick.

Of course, a million times of course, you can't truly judge a draft for a couple of seasons. But logic goes out the window on draft night in favor of knee-jerk reaction and emotion, yes?

Yes.

It was a vibe. And then some. A Silver and Black-coated feel-good vibe that enveloped a fan base waiting in joyful hope for some good news on, you got it, draft night.

Indeed, for the first time in recent memory, sentiment among Raiders fans was in near total agreement - their favorite team absolutely nailed their first pick of a draft.

You'd have to go back to 2014 and the Raiders' selection of Khalil Mack at No. 5 that year to find a similar mood among the fan base.

That's not a dig on Amari Cooper.

Not a slam on Karl Joseph.

Not a shot at Gareon Conley, Kolton Miller, Clelin Ferrell, Alex Leatherwood, Dylan Parham or Tyree Wilson.

Certainly not Brock Bowers.

Hey, Miller has been a foundational left tackle and Bowers was a transcendent first-team All-Pro tight end as a rookie last season.

But not since the popular Mack was drafted has a fan base been so united in their glee over a first-round pick.

And you'd have to go back to 2008 and Darren McFadden to find a similar joyful reaction in unison for an offensive player taken with the first pick of a Raiders draft.

In fact, Jeanty is only the fifth running back drafted by the Raiders in the first round since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, along with Hall of Famer Marcus Allen (1982), Napoleon Kaufman (1995), McFadden and Josh Jacobs (2019).

"I'm super, super duper excited," Jeanty said in Green Bay. "Ecstatic."

Even more so Raiders fans and alumni.

Or did you miss Raiders coach Pete Carroll saying Marshawn Lynch was blowing his phone up all night after the pick because Lynch was so "fired up about" Jeanty joining his old team.

More reasons for fans to be excited?

Carroll compared Jeanty's highlight tape to that of a Heisman Trophy winner he coached at USC. A game-changer by the name of Reggie Bush who would break off so many long touchdown runs he would often be the only one on the screen, having left defenders so far behind in his contrails.

Same with Jeanty in his record-breaking career at Boise State.

All of which was a thumb in the eye of the recent devaluation of the running back position.

Leave it to Jeanty, then, to continue the renaissance while energizing a fan base.

"I'm very proud of that," he said. "I'm just thankful for this opportunity. And I'm going to show everybody the position is valuable, and it is great to take an exceptional running back in the first round."

So there.

And while Jeanty, at 5-feet-9, 210 pounds, is two inches shorter and five pounds lighter than Lynch in his prime, both Jeanty and Carroll see some "Beast Mode" comps there, too.

Yeah, Lynch was one of the first running backs Jeanty studied as a young player.

"Just breaking tackles and making crazy plays down the field," Jeanty said. "There's a lot of similarities there."

Things that Carroll saw firsthand when he and Lynch were with the Seattle Seahawks.

"[Ashton's] ability to make plays when there isn't anything there, Marshawn did that throughout his career," Carroll said. "He found a physical way to bank off people and bounce and keep alive and Ashton that's one of the aspects of his style. His burst complements.

"There's a special makeup there in Ashton, in particular."

One celebrated by the fans. One celebrated rightfully so on draft night for the first time in a long time. One you could hear and feel.