NFL draft analyst weighs in on Jaguars selecting RB Ashton Jeanty at pick No. 5

Yahoo

17-04-2025

A thought that is picking up steam, at least among draft analysts, is that running back Ashton Jeanty to the Jacksonville Jaguars at pick No. 5 makes a lot of sense.
In Dane Brugler's recent seven-round mock draft for The Athletic, he had Jeanty going to the Jaguars. Gennaro Filice of NFL.com had the same selection in his recent mock as well.
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Now, CBS Sports draft analyst Chris Trapasso believes Jeanty to the Jaguars is in play.
On a recent appearance on Sirius XM's Mad Dog Sports Radio with Damon Amdendolara, Trapasso was asked if he thinks the Jaguars are going to pick Jeanty at fifth overall.
"At this point I do," said Trapasso, "and I think we also have to remember that the first round, especially at the top, always gives us a few surprises. For as much as, yes, Mason Graham would be the chalk pick, the defensive tackle from Michigan, everything that you just laid out, Liam Coen, the head coach, is an offensive-minded guy. James Gladstone their young GM, 34-years-old, the youngest GM in the NFL, comes over from the LA Rams and you could think maybe a younger GM would understand the modern day value of the running back and would wait at that position.
"But we've also seen what Jahmyr Gibbs has done in Detroit as a former first-round pick. He's really helped that roster being so explosive and then obviously Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. There's been a little bit of a change of tune in terms of the value of a rookie deal running back might be a little bit better than we thought just a few years ago. That was one of the bigger talks, outside of Shadeur Sanders, at this year's combine."
When Liam Coen said last week that he wants balance around Trevor Lawrence so that he doesn't have to do it all on every single play, adding Jeanty to the offense would certainly lighten that playmaking workload that can often fall on the quarterback's shoulders.
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Jeanty was a Heisman Finalist this past season after rushing for a whopping 2,595 yards with 29 touchdowns, while averaging just under 7.0 yards per attempt, 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.
Having a strong running game can do wonders for the passing game. For one, it keeps the offense out of predictable passing situations, it opens up opportunities for the passing game to exploit, and in Coen's offense specifically, the running game and passing game concepts go hand-in-hand and build off of each other.
But with that said, when it comes to whether or not the Jaguars would make this pick, my guess is that it comes down to how they feel about the offensive line--a unit that they invested in during free agency, which helped raise the floor, but there are still some unknowns in regards to what Jacksonville actually has with their starting five.
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For a Jaguars team that is in the midst of reshaping its roster under new leadership, I believe the prudent roster-building move would be to make sure they are stout in the trenches before going all-in on the skill positions. And if the Jaguars already feel they've accomplished that on the offensive line, then by all means make the pick.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Analyst weighs in on Ashton Jeanty to Jaguars