Ashton Jeanty has a pretty good handle on world travel. The son of a U.S. Navy chief petty officer, he was born in Jacksonville, FL, played high school ball in Naples, Italy, and at Lone Star HS in Texas, then had a superb college career as Boise State's multitalented tailback.
Jeanty also is a student of recent history at his position.
"I think there was a period of time where backs were being devalued," he said from the recently concluded NFL Combine in Indianapolis. "There was kind of a lull at the position."
But Jeanty mentioned Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson and maybe epecially Saquon Barkley as sparking a running back renaissance in the NFL, a "rebirth" that he respectfully but firmly believes he'll be a part of.
"They've all been doing special things," he said of his big three NFL backs. "They're showing that if you have a special X-factor player at the running back position, it can really enhance your offense."
Jeanty could be that back in the 2025 draft, fewer than two months away. He is one of those rare players who doesn't get mentioned in every draft guru's top-10 mock draft but is No. 1 on some impressive value boards. NFL.com rates him at 7.15 and Next Gen Stats gives him a 95 draft score ranking. Both figures are the best among the 323 athletes who participated at the combine.
The BSU Bronco likened his game to former Giant Barkley, one of the offensive stars who powered the Eagles to their Super Bowl victory over the Chiefs.
"He's a great player. I've been watching him since he was at Penn State," Jeanty said. "I always thought of him as one of the best running backs in the league. Congratulations to him on a great season, getting in the right situation. But just his ability to make that first guy miss in space, there are kind of similarities in our game."
Jeanty isn't necessarily similar to the other top NFL backs in size. Where Barkley, for instance, measures 5-11 and 233 pounds, Jeanty at the combine checked in at 5-8½ and 211.
But maybe that's the only dissimilarity. Certainly the brawny Jeanty's muscular college production was one of the elements in his outstanding Next Gen grade. In 2024, he led FBS with 374 carries — nearly 27 totes a game!— and 2,601 rushing yards, was second in rush TDs (29) and scrimmage TDs (30), won the Maxwell and Doak Walker awards and was the Heisman Trophy runnerup.
What about receiving? We have to go back a year to '23, when he rang up 43 receptions for 569 yards at an eye-popping 13.2 yards/catch.
"I think my receiving ability, I was able to show that more in my sophomore season," he said, adding that as a pass-catching back, "just having a more pro-style offense, not as much was needed of me this year. But I definitely have great receiving ability."
As for which NFL team's value board will dictate taking their next candidate for bellcow back, the Giants at No. 3 overall and the Jets at 7 with Breece Hall, Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis on the roster wouldn't appear to be in the RB market. But Jeanty said he'd be happy if Las Vegas at 6, New Orleans at 9 or Dallas at 12.
"I would hope I don't fall that far," he said of Denver's No. 13 slot, "but if that happens, I would have no problem playing for the Broncos."
And for all the aspiring RBs in his draft class and beyond, he advised not to fall for the sad song of the demise of the NFL running back.
"I came from overseas, then to Lone Star High School, so my experience is a little different than a lot of people," he said. "I didn't get to play running back until my senior year because there were a lot of guys ahead of me so I had to wait my time. So what I'd say to all the younger cats is just trust the process. Your chance will come, and wherever they put you on the field, just take advantage of your opportunities."
