No college running back enjoyed a more successful 2024 season than Heisman runner-up and Doak Walker Award winner Ashton Jeanty.
The Boise State product enters the draft as one of the most decorated running backs in college football history and will certainly be one of the most discussed prospects leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft.
Ashton Jeanty Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 5’9
- Weight: 215 pounds
- Position: Running Back
- School: Boise State
- Current Year: Junior
Scouting Report
Ashton Jeanty was born in Jacksonville, Florida but played his high school football at Lone Star High School in Texas. Jeanty grew up in a military family — his father was in the Navy — which led to Jeanty moving often as a child. His travels included a stint in Naples, Italy, where he played football against other military-base kids.
Coming out of high school, Jeanty was a four-star recruit and heavily pursued by a number of schools across the country. Jeanty ultimately chose Boise State over schools such as Kansas and Cal, and he quickly became the prize of the Broncos’ 2022 recruiting class.
Jeanty quickly became a factor and was a key cog in Boise State’s offense, even as a true freshman. Jeanty ran for 821 yards and seven touchdowns while splitting carries with George Holani. Then, Jeanty made all of college football take notice in 2023 by rushing for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns while also adding 569 receiving yards and five receiving scores.
Entering 2024, Jeanty was not just established as one of the best collegiate running backs, but he appeared likely to eventually be an early-round draft pick. Jeanty had multiple NIL offers from bigger Power 4 schools, but he opted to stay loyal and remain in Boise for his final season.
That proved to be a prudent decision, as Jeanty put together a historical season by rushing for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns while leading Boise State to its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. Following the Broncos’ loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, Jeanty decided to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2025 NFL Draft.
Strengths
- Rare contact balance to bounce off tackles and continue to run for positive gain.
- Outstanding vision to see open lanes and creases while not losing speed.
- Excellent lateral agility to make defenders miss in the open field.
- A highly elusive running back who makes it very challenging to square up against.
- Outstanding burst to break through the line of scrimmage and gain yards and excellent speed to create explosive home-run plays.
- Excellent pad level and runs with a low center of gravity.
- Cat-like quickness to stop and start on a dime and reverse field when blocking doesn’t line up correctly.
- Very good instincts and feel with the ball in his hands.
- Possesses scheme versatility.
Weaknesses
- A bit tight in his lower body and struggles to open his hips to change direction.
- Lack of size and length limits his effectiveness as a pass protector.
- His overall size is a concern at the next level and casts doubt on his ability to effectively carry out an every-down role.
- Enters NFL career with a lot of tread on his tires (374 carries in 2024 alone).
Current Draft Projection and Summary
There are few running backs in recent memory that are entering the draft with as much hype as Jeanty, and with good reason. Jeanty offers outstanding playmaking ability and has the game-breaking attributes that can justify a team spending high draft capital at a non-priority position such as running back.
Jeanty offsets his average size with outstanding speed, burst, and vision. Jeanty is a short running back but has a dense build with a sturdy lower body. While not possessing imposing size, Jeanty has rare contact balance and can easily bounce off would-be tacklers without losing speed or balance.
He is a physical runner who flashes a strong stiff arm, and it often takes multiple tacklers to bring him down. In short, Jeanty is a player who defensive coordinators preach about gang tackling all week, considering his ability to break through tacklers late in the down for extra yards.
Jeanty is a scheme-versatile back who shows the ability to excel in a power and gap scheme or a wide-zone-oriented offense. Jeanty displays outstanding vision as a zone runner and can quickly scan and diagnose the crease while pressing horizontally. He runs with excellent patience and allows his blockers to set up, then displays rare acceleration to burst through the gap or hole.
Jeanty has an innate ability to make himself untouchable for defenders and is one of the most elusive and slippier backs I have ever scouted. He runs with rare instincts for the position, seemingly always two steps ahead of the defender and consistently setting him up to fail.
In the passing game, Jeanty displays good overall hands and is a reliable target on screens, wheel, and rail routes. However, he doesn’t have an array of routes in his bag and wouldn’t be a player teams would want to split outside. Jeanty is a willing pass protector, but his lack of strength and length limit his ability to consistently win at the point of attack.
Overall, Jeanty is a rare playmaker at the position who does all the little things well while also offering game-breaking home-run ability. While his lack of NFL-caliber size may give some teams pause, I expect Jeanty to hear his name called early on Day 1 of the NFL Draft.
