Ashton Jeanty

Jeanty will enter what will likely be a run-first offense under Vegas OC Chip Kelly. With no real backfield competition, Jeanty will be an every-down back and an elite fantasy option. An under-the-radar high school talent due to his father’s military career, Jeanty (5’8/211) was lightly recruited out of his Frisco, Texas high school after only one year of starting duties, but quickly blew up in Boise. He was already a nationwide sensation by his true sophomore season in 2023, but it was his 2024 that sent his draft stock stratospheric. Although he played in three fewer games than the legendary Barry Sanders, Jeanty’s 2,601 2024 yards rushing were second all time only to Sanders’ 2,628 in 1988. Obviously a breakaway threat any time he touches the ball, Jeanty boasts otherworldly contact balance. He is ridiculously agile for his thick frame. Jeanty understands the timing and angles of the run game, making him difficult to square up, and even more difficult to take down. An underrated pass catcher, Jeanty averaged 3.4 yards per route run in 2023 before the Broncos realized they didn’t need to bother targeting him in 2024. Just hand him the ball. Jeanty’s competition leap from the Mountain West to the NFL is steep, but he decked Oregon for 25/192/3 last September. Jeanty is a special prospect and the rare running back worthy of a blue chip selection.

There has been a steady Bears/Jeanty drumbeat this week, but the gifted runner isn’t going to fall to No. 10 overall. Ergo, trade up rumors. There seems to be no shortage of picks-desperate teams willing to trade down. Chicago can probably pull this off if it really wants to. The question, as always, is at what price. The speculation, thankfully, will end in a few hours.

Led by first-time general manager John Spytek, the Vegas front office, per Russini, has spent “substantial time” doing “homework” on Jeanty after he rushed for nearly 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns over his final two seasons at Boise State. There is reportedly some pushback about investing the team’s premium first rounder on Jeanty when it could be used to bolster an offensive line that Pro Football Focus graded as 2024’s 14th best pass blocking unit and 29th best run blocking unit. LSU’s Will Campbell and Alabama’s Tyler Booker could be targets for Vegas if they forgo Jeanty in the first. The Bears, according to Russini, are “hoping” Jeanty falls to them at No. 10.

Anonymous coaches and prospect evaluators from across the league spoke to The Athletic about the 2025 draft class, and time and again, Jeanty’s pass protection was raised as a major issue for an otherwise stellar running back prospect. A running backs coach told The Athletic that Jeanty’s “contact balance, elusiveness, acceleration, competitiveness all jump out at you off the tape,” but that “his pass protection is bad. That bothers me right there.” An offensive coordinator said, “I think he’s a little liability in pass protection, and I don’t know how flat-out fast he is.” Pro Football Focus in 2024 graded Jeanty 112th out of 148 qualifying running backs in pass protection. Jeanty, who rushed for nearly 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns over his final two seasons at Boise State, also earned PFF’s top overall grade among backs last year. He’s fully expected to go in the first five or six picks of the draft.