Ashton Jeanty is an interesting case. In 2024, he had a breakout season in his junior year at Boise State. He came in second in the Heisman trophy voting, he rushed for over 2,000 yards and had 29 rushing touchdowns.
Jeanty’s accomplishments throughout the season raised his draft stock so high that he’s a high priority for a lot of teams in the upcoming draft. However, his impressive season does have its catches.
What Jeanty did was impressive, his only downside is that he played with a team in the Mountain West Conference. Boise State’s 2024 schedule was mostly against Mountain West teams and they don't have the same level of competition as the SEC, BIG 10, BIG 12 or ACC.
Therefore, it would be safe to assume that Jeanty had easier competition than most Heisman runners-up. However, does that downplay his accomplishments too much?
Despite playing against “lesser” competition, Jeanty still put up gaudy-like numbers with over 2,000 yards on the ground while averaging 7.0 yards per carry. He also led the FBS in rushing touchdowns and rushing yards for the 2024 season.
He still managed to win the Maxwell Award, the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and was named an unanimous All-American.
In the 2024 Fiesta Bowl against Penn State, Jeanty still managed to rush 104 yards despite Boise State getting blown out 31-14. With all of that being said, where does Jeanty end up?
Several NFL mock drafts that are published on NFL.com have predicted Jeanty to end up in the top 10 of the draft.
One mock draft published by draft analyst Chad Reuter, he predicts that Jeanty will be taken fourth overall by the New England Patriots. The Patriots drafting a running back makes sense after hiring their new head coach in Mike Vrabel.
Vrabel has experience with powerful running backs during his time with the Tennessee Titans. Derrick Henry had some of his most explosive seasons with Vrabel as his head coach and there’s no reason why Jeanty couldn’t do the same with him.
While Jeanty doesn’t have the same size as Henry, he still has the ability to break tackles and break off for big plays.
In another NFL.com mock draft done by analyst Marc Ross, he predicts that Jeanty will be taken seventh overall by the New York Jets. The Jets already have a running back in Breece Hall, but he has yet to break out into the star that he was supposed to be.
If he were to be paired with Jeanty then the Jets would have a dual-threat running back situation that could lay a great foundation in New York. With a new quarterback in Justin Fields, the Jets could have one of the scariest backfields in the league if Jeanty falls that far.
It’s unclear where Jeanty will end up and it’s even more unclear whether or not he’ll be able to transition his college success into NFL success. Jeanty being drafted in the right team with the right situation will be the most beneficial for them.
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