Will Ashton Jeanty be the next franchise running back in the NFL?
Coming off a dominant season at Bosise State in which he rushed for 2,601 yards with 29 rushing touchdowns, there will be many teams drooling at the opportunity to draft Jeanty. The question is how high will he be selected in the 2025 NFL Draft?
With Cam Ward almost a shoe in at No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans, Jeanty could go as high as No. 2. That’s if a team like the Cleveland Browns see him as a bigger impact type player than either Travis Henry or Abdul Carter. With the New York Giants, New England Patriots and the Jacksonville Jaguars rounding out the top 5, could one of those teams snatch Jeanty off the board?
NFL.com has Jacksonville taking Ashton Jeanty at No. 5
With Mason Graham off the board, NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice has the Jaguars selecting Jeanty with the No. 5 overall pick in the draft. Filice feels the Jaguars could use a multi-faceted back like Jeanty to get the running game back to one of the strengths of the offense.
In his latest mock draft, Filice writes:
“Travis Etienne Jr.'s efficiency declined in 2023, and his production fell off a cliff in ’24. Tank Bigsby emerged as a rusher in Year 2, but he still seems ideally suited as a bruising RB2. Feels like a nice place to insert Jeanty, who just so happens to be a Jacksonville native. Trevor Lawrence has been supported by a top-20 ground game once, and in that 2022 season, he earned his lone Pro Bowl nod while the Jaguars took the AFC South and made noise in the playoffs. Seems relevant.”
Not only could Jeanty take over as the No. 1 back in the Jags’ offense, he would be a quick outlet for Trevor Lawrence in the passing game. Jeanty caught 23 receptions for 138 yards out of the backfield last season, but he proved he can be a pass-catching threat in 2023 when he had 43 receptions for 569 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Although Jacksonville has other needs, if a player as dominant as Jeanty has shown to be at Boise State is available, they either make the selection or trade back for more draft capital.
CBS.com Mock Draft has Jaguars making a big trade back at No. 5
With some mock drafts and projections having Jeanty going at No. 6 to the Las Vegas Raiders, CBS writer Pete Prisco explores the idea of the Jaguars trading the No. 5 overall pick to the Chicago Bears for No. 10 overall and more picks. In this scenario, the Bears get a featured back who could take some of the pressure off second-year quarterback Caleb Williams.
Prisco writes:
“The Jaguars trade out of this spot as Ben Johnson goes up to get the feature back for his offense. He moves ahead of the Raiders to do so. Jeanty can do it all. The Jaguars drop to No. 10 to get more picks so they can add more players, which they need.”
There is a change Jeanty could slide to the Bears at No. 10, but this is a trade that would make sense for both teams. The Jaguars could take care of another top need and gain draft picks while the Bears would get an exciting running back that Johnson would utilize in the same way he did with Jahmry Gibbs in Detroit. Of course, the success of the Bears’ offense and for Jeanty to be impactful will depend on what more the Bears do to sure up their offensive line.
Which scenario works for NFL Mocks? Well, Jeanty to the Bears would be the more intriguing scenario for the player and the league. In the Mocks’ top 10 2025 NFL Draft projection, Jeanty to the Raiders is the call, but as a top 5 ranked prospect, the dynamic ability of Jeanty could fit in many places.