Few running backs in recent memory have seemed like locks to become NFL superstars. Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty is one of the notable exceptions, and his talent has enticed Denver Broncos fans from the moment he began popping up in mock drafts as a first round pick.
With Jeanty’s stock soaring throughout the season and in the run-up to the NFL draft, he has begun to seem more and more out of reach to the Broncos at No. 20 overall.
To make things even worse, he’s now the odds-on favorite to land with the Las Vegas Raiders at No. 6 overall.
“Ashton Jeanty is the overwhelming favorite to be the first running back drafted,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote on April 7. “The Raiders are the favorites to draft the former Boise State star. Via DraftKings, Jeanty is a -5000 favorite as the first tailback off the board. He’s a -130 favorite to go to the Raiders, who hold the sixth overall pick.”
Not getting a player like Jeanty to fill the most pressing need on the roster would be a bitter pill to swallow no matter where he ended up. Watching him blossom into a star as you play him two times every year in the AFC West for the next decade just seems like cruel and unusual punishment.
Jeanty Draws Comparison to Pro Football Hall of Famer
Jeanty led the FBS with 2,601 rushing yards, 29 touchdowns and averaged 7.0 yards per carry in 2024 and won both the Maxwell Award and the Doak Walker Award. In one pre-draft evaluation, he drew an NFL comparison from NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein to Pro Football Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson.
Tomlinson was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2001 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers and went on to become the 2006 NFL Most Valuable Player, a 6-time NFL All-Pro and 5-time Pro Bowler.
“Jeanty plays a position that has become devalued on draft day, but his unique talent and the resurgence of the run game in the NFL should force teams to reconsider that factor when weighing his value,” Zierlein wrote. ” … This top-flight running back is capable of becoming the face of an offense in a league where the pendulum might be swinging back to the running game. Jeanty has future All-Pro talent.”
Broncos Could Create Scenario to Land Jeanty
Depending on how the Broncos have evaluated Jeanty, there is a clear-cut trade scenario in which they could probably bring him to Denver. In the case that general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton view Jeanty like Zierlein does, then it’s one they should try and pull off.
The Jacksonville Jaguars pick at No. 5 overall and in this trade proposal ,the Broncos get the Jaguars to pick Jeanty in exchange for their 2025 and 2026 first round picks.
It’s the kind of straightforward trade that might be appealing to both sides. The Broncos might already be one player away from being a real contender and the Jaguars have needs at almost every position but, somehow, not at running back.
