I’m a college football layman. During the season, I’m not dissecting and analyzing the FBS landscape with a fine-tooth comb. That work begins once the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season ends and the draft winds start blowing. I’m a casual. I can tell you about Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith’s dominance at 18 years old. I know what Pitt and Penn State (and, of course, the Idaho Vandals) did each weekend. I can recall the obscure moment from thanks to the Sickos Committee – did you guys here about Southern Nazarene upsetting Ouachita Baptist, woah! – but that’s about it. I can’t give you the lowdown of each team chapter and verse. But I know a lot about one player – Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty.
So does the rest of the football world. A highlight reel machine and college football’s most productive, if not its most talented, runner, he should become a top name in the 2025 NFL Draft. And maybe the next Pittsburgh Steelers running back.
Jeanty is just fun. His tape is hard to believe. A squatty runner built like Jaylen Warren, he runs with incredible power and balance. Stopping him requires more than one player. More than two. His highlights feature a trail of defenders left in his wake as he drags the world to the end zone. It feels like a five-star high school recruit dominating some pushover on Homecoming. He’s a unique runner all the way down to his upright backfield stance.
I mean, just look at some of these plays.
No, he doesn’t play in the Power 5, which is a common critique against him. But Boise State and the Mountain West aren’t Little House on the Prairie. Plus, Jeanty’s 2024 campaign includes putting up 197 yards and three touchdowns against Oregon in September. The Ducks entered the Week as the No. 1 team in the country and will remain in that top spot after easily dispatching Michigan yesterday.
While I haven’t written an official scouting report, Jeanty’s game reminds me a lot of Kareem Hunt. They have similar builds, similar running styles, and players from non-Power 5 schools. What I remember most about Hunt at Toledo was his incredible contact balance, a Weeble that may Wobble but never falls down. In 2014, Hunt rushed for over 1,600 yards and a scorching 8 yards per carry for the Rockets. Jeanty is putting up even better numbers. He’s on pace to cruise to a 2,000-yard campaign and once threatened Barry Sanders’ single-season record set in 1988. Jeanty is now unlikely to break that 2,628-yard mark, but it’s reasonable to assume he’ll finish Top-Ten in FBS history.
But what about the NFL? There have been great college players who didn’t translate. Jeanty is a workhorse, a trait attractive to the Steelers even if they’re switched to a committee approach. He’s had 30-plus carries four times, including three times this season. While there could be worry about how much tread his NFL tires will have, he’s a junior who carried 156 times as a freshman and 220 last season. He’ll enter the league with about 650 carries, a similar number to Melvin Gordon and Derrick Henry and far less than the 926 Jonathan Taylor had in his career. By comparison, Najee Harris had 638 in his Alabama career. The Steelers are unlikely to be deterred.
Ashton Jeanty is the physical runner Pittsburgh covets. All they do is draft burly bruisers. Harris. James Conner. Le’Veon Bell. Rashard Mendenhall. Even Day Three names like Benny Snell. There’s no svelte player there. And when they did dip their toe in those waters, they were burned. Dri Archer and Chris Rainey were complete whiffs.
The stats hint at Jeanty’s versatility. He hasn’t been utilized much as a receiver this season, just 14 catches, but he notched 43 a season ago. In fact, in 2023, he finished second on the Broncos in catches and yards while his five receiving scores tied for the team lead. From an outsider’s perspective, he’s also high-character. In October, he announced the launch of the Ashton Jeanty Endowed Scholarship in the hopes of leaving a “legacy” at Boise.
Our Jonathan Heitritter has had him on the draft radar since early September, highlighting his “blend of strength, burst, and vision,” and considers him a potential RB1 in April’s draft.
On paper, it looks perfect. So, what stands in their way? A couple of things. One, he could be the first running back drafted. While that might not demand a top-10 selection, Pittsburgh won’t be able to sit around to take him. And they have other needs even if Najee Harris departs. Wide receiver, defensive line, potentially cornerback, and who knows what else will be on their radar. Of course, there’s no guarantee Harris leaves either. He’s having his best NFL season, which could compel the team to retain him.
The Steelers’ draft history also works against him. In general, they prefer to draft any player from the Power 5 where they’ve faced the toughest competition, in theory making for the cleanest projection. It’s especially true at running back. In the top four rounds, the last time they drafted a non-Power 5 true running back (discounting someone like Archer, who was a hybrid they didn’t know what the heck to do with) was Northwestern State’s Sidney Thornton in 1977. History is just that, but Pittsburgh loves their draft pedigree for their lead runners.
Because Ashton Jeanty is a well-known and highlight-reel player, he’s bound to be at least discussed in Pittsburgh circles during the draft. If Harris leaves, Jaylen Warren will ascend into a No. 1 role while Cordarrelle Patterson remains under contract, showing that even into his mid-30s, he can still run. But the Steelers will look to add more. Jeanty would be a fun and fine choice, even if it feels unlikely to transpire come April’s draft.
