As the 2025 NFL Draft gets closer and closer, the betting odds for Ashton Jeanty get higher and higher. Since April 16th, Jeanty’s odds to the Jaguars have risen from +700 all the way to +250.
That begs the question, is the running back position even worthy of a first round selection? NFL rushing offenses are back! Last season, passing hit a decade low, throwing for just 217 yards per game.
The last season with that low of an average was all the way back in 2008. Rushing, on the other hand, posted the second highest yards per game average (119.8) since 1988, just behind 2022’s 121.6 yards per game.
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As defenses have shifted towards lighter boxes in order to defend the pass, offenses have responded in kind, going back to old school football. In 2024, the top six rushing teams all made the playoffs.
The Ravens and Eagles dominated their competition with some of the best rushing attacks of the 21st century and Saquon Barkley became just the ninth player to hit that coveted 2,000-yard mark.
Today, you could argue that the running back position is more valuable than it has been in nearly two decades. It’s the reason why Saquon Barkley just became the highest-paid running back in franchise history, signing a two-year, $41.2 million deal.
If you want a dominant rushing attack, you might just need to draft one highly. Since 2015, 12 of the top-15 rushing leaders were selected in the first two rounds.
That figure includes six first round draft selections: Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Christian McCaffrey, Todd Gurley, and Jonathan Taylor. I’ll be honest, that’s a great group of first round running backs. Each of them have at least 6,000 yards since 2015 and most have played for just a fraction of that time.
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Jonathan Taylor, for instance, has 6,013 yards in just five seasons. Among the lists includes three players taken outside the first two rounds. Those players are Aaron Jones (5th Round), Latavius Murray (6th Round), and James Conner (3rd Round).
There’s been plenty of discussion around how much running backs truly matter and whether or not the position’s value is worthy of a first round selection, much less a top-10 or top-5. Well, as the list above shows, it might just be worth it if you want a great back.
If there ever were to be a great back taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, his name would be Ashton Jeanty, a man who needs no introduction. Jeanty took college football by storm, rushing for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns on his way to a second place finish in the Heisman voting.
Jeanty is as good as they make them. In 2024, Jeanty’s 1,970 yards after contact were more than any other running back had as a whole.
He’s also a reliable blocker and threat out of the backfield as well. The Jaguars have already invested quite a lot into the running back position with former first round selection Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby as well. It’s hard to argue that they should invest even more.
However, Etienne is entering a contract year and neither are likely to be as good as Jeanty figures to be. With Brian Thomas Jr already in the fold, Jeanty could give the Jaguars one of the most dominant, threatening offenses in the NFL. Between the two, they could easily see 300-350 touches a season. Jaguars’ fans would certainly have to feel good about that possibility.
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