Ashton Jeanty is considered by most to be the best running back prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft, and plenty of experts see true star potential in him.
At Boise State, he ran for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns last season, and some have compared him to LaDainian Tomlinson, the Hall of Fame running back who played for the San Diego Chargers.
Plenty of mock drafts have linked Jeanty to the Las Vegas Raiders, who have the No. 6 overall pick and one of the weakest running back rooms in the league.
However, ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler feels another team could spring into action and take him before the Raiders.
“In fact, Jacksonville at No. 5 could be a sleeper option for Jeanty as well,” Fowler said, via NFL on ESPN.
.@JFowlerESPN says the Jacksonville Jaguars could be a sleeper to pick Ashton Jeanty at No. 5 📈 pic.twitter.com/dZWdzniNkK
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 18, 2025
The Jacksonville Jaguars were looking like a team on the rise after they finished the 2022 season on a hot streak and overcame a huge first-half deficit in the wild-card round of the playoffs to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers.
But they haven’t made the playoffs since then, and were 4-13 in 2024 to earn that top-5 selection.
They have running backs Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby on the roster, but conventional wisdom says a team should take the best player available if he is going to be a bona fide NFL star, regardless of positional need.
Jeanty could give the Jacksonville offense a major boost and take some pressure off quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
