Yet another 2025 NFL mock draft has the Jacksonville Jaguars selecting Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.
For the longest time, we didn't see Jeanty mocked to the Jaguars at pick No. 5, but the recent mock from Gennaro Filice of NFL.com is the latest version to have Jacksonville making that selection.
"Travis Etienne Jr.'s efficiency declined in 2023, and his production fell off a cliff in ’24," wrote Filice. "Tank Bigsby emerged as a rusher in Year 2, but he still seems ideally suited as a bruising RB2. Feels like a nice place to insert Jeanty, who just so happens to be a Jacksonville native. Trevor Lawrence has been supported by a top-20 ground game once, and in that 2022 season, he earned his lone Pro Bowl nod while the Jaguars took the AFC South and made noise in the playoffs. Seems relevant."
Is there something to this? Or is it mock draft fatigue with analysts looking to make some different picks?
After an impressive 2023 season from Jeanty, who totaled 1,344 rushing yards at 6.2 yards per attempt that year, he put together a monster season in 2024. Jeanty averaged just under 7.0 yards per attempt and totaled 2,595 rushing yards with 29 scores, per PFF.
Basically, pick a key running back metric, and in many instances, Jeanty was not only at the top of that list, but he was at the top by a wide margin.
With only three running backs on the roster, the Jaguars do have to address the position in this year's draft. Also, looking beyond 2025, Travis Etienne is a free agent in 2026, and Tank Bigsby will be in the final year of his rookie deal at that time, and not to be forgotten about, but the draft is also about planning ahead.
But going beyond the roster construction component, when Liam Coen said there needs to be more balance around Trevor Lawrence, without a doubt, having Jeanty's playmaking presence in the backfield would help alleviate some of that playmaking burden that can fall on the quarterback.
In addition to that, within Coen's offense, the running game and passing game concepts go hand-in-hand and build off of each other, which in turn, adds some unpredictability to an offense and keeps defenses guessing.
So, to state the obvious, Jeanty would certainly provide the Jaguars' offense with a boost, and the trickle-down effect of a strong running game is that it then opens up opportunities in the passing game.
But having said that, I still have my doubts that he is the pick at No. 5. The primary reason for that is because before a team should focus on adding skill position players, the trenches should be in good order first. And along both the offensive and defensive lines, there is work to be done.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire:
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