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Despite the emergence of a few other backs in the 2025 NFL Draft, Ashton Jeanty has held firm as the top RB prospect. He runs with a low center of gravity and is extremely difficult to knock off balance. His contact balance is among the best I've seen since Alvin Kamara, and it's this trait that allows him to consistently maximize runs. While his reception totals dipped this past season, Jeanty clearly remains a natural pass catcher. In 2023, he recorded 569 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 43 catches, alongside 1,347 rushing yards and 14 scores on the ground.
This season, Jeanty and the Boise State Broncos placed their faith in the ground game, and he nearly doubled his rushing output from a season ago. Jeanty amassed 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns, placing him just 27 yards shy of the single-season rushing record set by Barry Sanders. But before he was a collegiate star, he showed remarkable versatility lining up at both running back and wide receiver in high school. He totaled 1,843 rushing yards and 810 receiving yards as a high school senior, which further underscores his pass-catching prowess.
His eclectic mix of skills, which have been on display since the culmination of his high school career paved the way for last year's breakout season in which he won the Doak Walker Award, Maxwell Award, and Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Additionally, Jeanty finished as the Heisman Trophy runner-up behind Travis Hunter. He finished his collegiate career with a 30-carry, 104-yard performance in a loss to Penn State but that's obviously not the last we'll see from him.
As the clear-cut No.1 running back in the 2025 NFL Draft, he'll utilize his ability to uncanny ability to break tackles and his pass-catching ability to elevate his next team. As long as he can do a better job of taking less contact and continue to improve upon his functional strength as a pass blocker, he should have an instant impact on the team that selects him.
While Jeanty has had success in zone and gap scheme runs, my final assessment is that he looked most natural at Boise State while running DUO and Power, which are considered gap scheme runs. The three teams that I believe are the best landing spots for Jeanty run a great deal of DUO and Power while mixing in some split zone on occasion.
If he's fortunate to land with any one of the teams highlighted below, he could very well become Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Best Landing Spots for Ashton Jeanty
The Las Vegas Raiders have an opportunity to do something truly special in this draft. In the first two rounds, they could drastically improve the fortunes of this franchise for at least the next decade. While it is my belief that Jeanty functions better and is more decisive as a gap-scheme runner, I am keenly aware of Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly's propensity to utilize a great deal of outside zone to set up play-action. With that said, the Raiders coaching staff and existing personnel would still allow him to have a great deal of success right away. If the Raiders do select Jeanty in Round 1, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will be certain to utilize a great deal of split zone to allow him to quickly get into the second level of defenses.
By selecting Jeanty, the Raiders will have an interesting shell game between him and Brock Bowers with Bowers coming across the formation on split zone to seal the backside defensive end. With the threat of Bowers potentially getting the ball while coming across the formation, defenders will have to honor him as a ball carrier, which will make rushing lanes that much wider for Jeanty. If the Raiders happen to trade back into Round 1 or stand pat at pick No. 37 in Round 2 and take Jalen Milroe, then you're looking at a perennial playoff team on the strength of their run game alone and Jeanty would obviously be a major part of that equation.
Former Lions' offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will be the head coach and play-caller for the Chicago Bears next season. Jeanty could be exactly what's needed to insulate the Bears' second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. One thing Johnson loves to do is run the football early and often, which bodes well for Jeanty's workload if he happens to land in Chicago. One of Ben Johnson's greatest traits is his ability to adjust to his players. He ran a great deal of gap scheme when he had Jamaal Williams in Detroit in 2022, which resulted in Williams posting 1,066 yards and a league-leading 17 touchdowns.
Johnson's run game is as diverse as any play-caller in the league but he's also great at evaluating talent and putting a player in the best position to succeed. The Bears also added left guard Joe Thuney, center Drew Dalman, and right guard Jonah Jackson this offseason to provide better protection for Caleb Williams and improve the run game. The addition of Jeanty will go a long way toward allowing D'Andre Swift to play in space with greater consistency while giving the offense much-needed balance. I do believe the Bears will take Penn State tight end Tyler Warren in Round 1, but if they elect to take Jeanty, expect him to become a Tier 2 Fantasy back in his rookie year at minimum.
The Dallas Cowboys rode Ezekiel Elliot until the wheels fell off and they haven't quite found consistency at the running back position since. If the Cowboys take Jeanty at No. 12, they'll get the downhill rushing ability of Elliot on top of the receiving ability of Tony Pollard. During his time as the offensive line coach with the Arizona Cardinals, the Cardinals were one of the top gap-running teams in the league. They used at least one pulling offensive lineman on just under two-thirds of their run plays last year. Given Cowboys guard Tyler Smith's ability to pull, as well as the overall talent of the Cowboys offensive line, Jeanty could have a big rookie season in Dallas.
With the addition of Jeanty, the Cowboys would no longer have to rely on Dak Prescott's right arm as often as they have in previous years. The difference between an average back and a very good back is the ability to make something out of nothing. Jeanty has consistently shown he's capable of generating explosive plays, even when there's penetration in the backfield. He could be the stabilizing force that is missing in Dallas, that will allow them to successfully close out games in the fourth quarter.
