At this point, the Heisman Trophy race is a two-man competition between Colorado Buffaloes cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter and Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty. A winner will be declared at the 89th annual Heisman Trophy Ceremony on Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. ET. But which player has a brighter future in the NFL?
ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. recently evaluated the Heisman hopefuls as draft prospects, breaking down their NFL Draft stock and what teams are saying about them.
While Hunter is expected to be one of the first players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, Kiper believes Jeanty will have to wait a bit longer to hear his name called.
What Did Mel Kiper Jr. Say About Ashton Jeanty and Travis Hunter?
During an appearance on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike Radio,” Kiper explained his thoughts on Jeanty and Hunter as NFL prospects.
“Ashton Jeanty is a running back; he’s not going to get pushed up,” Kiper explained. “He’s gonna get pushed back a little bit because they don’t take running backs that high.”
Is there any world that exists in which Travis Hunter won't be a top two pick next April?@MelKiperESPN @ChrisCanty99 | @ESPNRadio pic.twitter.com/g0Y5nXlNZa
— UNSPORTSMANLIKE Radio (@UnSportsESPN) December 4, 2024
In recent years, teams have shied away from taking running backs early in the draft or giving them lucrative contracts in free agency, believing their production is replaceable.
While Jeanty may go later than fans expect on draft night, Hunter is expected to be a top pick. Kiper mentioned that other top prospects have either gotten injured or struggled this year, so it’s hard to find many players who could go earlier than Hunter (aside from perhaps Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Miami quarterback Cam Ward).
“Travis Hunter has to be in that top three…” Kiper said. “Travis Hunter in this draft, because of the reasons I gave, cannot get past the third pick overall.”
How High Could Jeanty Get Picked in the 2025 NFL Draft?
Given how teams value running backs these days, it will be interesting to see how early Jeanty goes in the 2025 NFL Draft.
One reason why teams have pushed running backs down their draft boards in recent years is because the RB position has the shortest average NFL career length (2.57 years). When a front office is drafting a player early in the first round, they want that prospect to be a cornerstone piece for many years to come.
In the 2024 NFL Draft, there wasn’t a single running back taken in the first round. The first running backs off the board were Carolina Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks (No. 46 overall in the second round) and Arizona Cardinals RB Trey Benson (No. 66 overall in the third round).
However, one year earlier, Atlanta Falcons RB Bijan Robinson was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Robinson was viewed as a generational RB prospect in the same tier as Saquon Barkley (No. 2 overall, 2018) and Leonard Fournette (No. 4 overall, 2017).
Will teams put Jeanty in that category?
Here’s what PFN’s NFL Draft Analyst Ian Cummings has to say about the Boise State star.
“Jeanty grades out as a near blue-chip RB prospect, worthy of early-to-mid first-round capital. Though positional value may drop Jeanty to the late first or early second round, he’s a potentially special RB prospect with rare creative ability.
“Jeanty has the baseline vision, explosiveness, and physicality that all offensive coordinators covet in their ball carriers. Jeanty is a complete three-down volume back with the devastating creative ability to give defenses nightmares for years on end.”
Jeanty has elite potential and could be a franchise-altering selection.
