Ashton Jeanty Still Highly Rated Despite Indifferent Season

It has become the modern-day NFL's version of the question, "Nature vs. nurture?" Should teams spend a first-round draft choice on a running back?

Looking at the recent buying habits of NFL teams, it's readily apparent that their current "nature" is to choose not to "nurture" a first-round RB.

Since 2020, a total of nine running backs have been drafted in the first round, with two of them - Clyde Edwards-Helaire of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020 and Jadarian Price of the Seattle Seahawks this year - taken with the 32nd, and final, pick of the first round.

In two years, 2022 and 2024, no running backs were taken in the opening round, a far cry from the record five that were selected before pick No. 25 in 2008.

The reasoning behind this deemphasis on RBs is that the position has been devalued overall from a value standpoint - with offensive tackle, edge rusher and cornerback joining quarterback as the new "glamor" positions - while backs who are able to put up at least comparable numbers to their first-round peers are annually found in the depths of the fifth, sixth or seventh rounds, or as undrafted free agents.

Still, there are running backs who are such good college players that they demand first-round attention.

One recent example is Ashton Jeanty, the Boise State University standout who had a staggering 2,739 total yards while finishing second in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 2024.

So, when it came time for the Las Vegas Raiders to make the No. 6 pick of the first round in the 2025 NFL Draft, they sent a card to the podium with Jeanty's name on it, which made him the highest-drafted RB since Saquan Barkley went No. 2 to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018.

Jeanty's first season in the Silver-and-Black was solid, if unspectacular: 975 yards rushing on 266 carries (3.7-yard average) with five touchdowns, along with 55 catches for 346 yards (4.6 yards per reception) with another five scores. That's 1,321 total yards (77.7 per game) with 10 total touchdowns on a stout 321 touches.

Compared to Omarian Hampton, 2025's other first-round RB who the Los Angeles Chargers took with pick No. 22, Jeanty is the clear winner through the first 23 games of their careers.

Start with that number, 23, which is how many games Jeanty has appeared in, while Hampton has been sidelined by injury for eight games and played in just 15 through 23 games.

That has allowed Jeanty to compile 1,885 total yards (1,288 rushing, 597 receiving) and 82.0 per game to Hampton's 1,082 (834 rushing, 248 receiving) and 72.1 per contest.

Still, there's an inescapable feeling among some that Jeanty has left a lot of meat on the bone so far in his career and that he should be producing more, as evidenced by his decline in rushing yards per game 52.2 from 57.4 in 2025 while his actual number of carries has increased to 16.3 per contest from 15.6.

One answer to that quandary could be the Las Vegas offensive line, which ranks 32nd of 32 teams in run-block score at nfllines.com with a -6.61. By comparison, the Buffalo Bills' O-line ranks first with a 6.90 tally.

Despite all that, on Oct. 22, Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report listed Jeanty as the No. 1 second-year running back in the league, but even he sounded suspect of Jeanty's overall performance.

"Despite getting hit in the backfield more often than not as a rookie, Jeanty still topped 1,300 total yards, scored 10 times and caught 55 passes," Davenport wrote. "On a better Raiders team in 2026, he was expected to take a step forward in Year 2. Instead, his production has declined. [Jeanty] isn't doomed to a disastrous season after six weeks, but there's no denying he has struggled this year. He is averaging 3.2 yards per carry and hasn't had a 20-yard run yet...."

The marauding horde of bargain-basement 2025 draft picks is also catching up to Jeanty (and Hampton, who Davenport still has No. 3 among second-year backs) in production, with the Miami Dolphins' Ollie Gordon II (Round 6, 179th pick), Washington Commanders' Jacory Croskey-Merritt (Round 7, 245th pick) and Chicago Bears' Kyle Monangai (Round 7, 233rd pick) all cracking Davenport's Top 10 after being taken in the fifth round of later.