The Dallas Cowboys have had a confusing couple of offseasons. Last year, after claiming that they were going “all in,” team owner and general manager Jerry Jones didn’t make any major moves to improve on last season’s team, and to no one’s surprise, they ended the 2024 NFL 7-10.
The Cowboys are in dire need of upgrading their offense, which ranked 23rd in PFSN’s Offense+ metric, and one analyst sees them making a move for Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Cowboys Predicted To Select Ashton Jeanty in 2025 NFL Draft
The Cowboys need a running back, and they need a good one. Last season, they tried the Rico Dowdle-Ezekiel Elliott experiment and finished with a -0.11 EPA rush, which ranked 27th in the NFL. It was Dallas’ lowest EPA-per-rush season since 2002 and only the fifth time since 2000 that they’ve had a mark of -0.1 or less.
PFSN’s Ben Rolfe made the bold prediction that they will look for a replacement in the NFL Draft — and who better than Jeanty in the 2025 class?
“Jeanty’s stats are amazing, both for 2024 and his career. He finished with 2,601 rushing yards and 29 touchdowns on 374 carries last year and finished his college career with 4,769 rushing yards and 50 rushing touchdowns. In 2024, Jeanty had a 0.21 EPA per rush, which ranked 11th among running backs,” Rolfe wrote.
“We saw this before from the Cowboys in 2016 when they drafted Elliott. He was coming off a superb season, and Dallas took him No. 4 overall. It had an instant impact. After posting a -0.06 EPA/rush in 2015, the Cowboys posted positive EPA/rush numbers in 2016 (0.02; fifth) and 2017 (0.05; first).
“Adding Jeanty would give the Cowboys’ offense another huge weapon for them to base their offense around in 2025 and beyond.”
Ashton Jeanty, RB Boise State pic.twitter.com/NIhpP83Tun
— NFL Draft Clips (@NFLDraftClip) February 15, 2025
Cowboys Have Options in the 2025 NFL Draft
However, according to PFSN’s latest 2025 NFL mock draft by Brentley Weissman, the Cowboys could also be in line to pick wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan at No. 12.
“Dallas finally stops Tetairoa McMillan’s mini fall here as they look to pair the big-bodied pass catcher with superstar receiver CeeDee Lamb.
McMillan is my highest-ranked receiver in this class if you don’t count Travis Hunter, and McMillan is one of the safest prospects in this class, too. McMillan shares a lot of similarities with Drake London and will give Dak Prescott a reliable option and another red-zone target.”
KEEP READING: 10 Bold NFL Offseason Predictions | Weissman’s 2025 NFL Mock Draft
Meanwhile, Weissman predicts Jeanty landing with the Denver Broncos at No. 20.
“Jeanty is a top-five player in this class for me and is a true difference-maker at running back, capable of changing games with his ability to hit explosive runs. Denver’s running game was putrid last season, and the team lacks juice in the backfield — this feels like a match made in heaven.”
The Boise State running back offers outstanding playmaking ability and has the game-breaking attributes that can justify a team spending high draft capital on a non-priority position, such as running back. While his lack of NFL-caliber size may give some teams pause, Weissmann expects to hear Jeanty’s name called early on Day 1 of the NFL Draft.
