Leading up to the 2025 NFL draft, the spotlight has largely been on Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders, Cam Ward, and Abdul Carter. However, there’s someone lurking in the shadows behind them all: the electric running back prospect, Ashton Jeanty. He’s a player whom Emmanuel Acho believes could change the course of a franchise.
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Jeanty was the talk of college football town this past season at Boise State, especially after finishing as the runner-up in Heisman voting. His exceptional blend of explosiveness, power, finesse, and vision has scouts drooling over his ceiling. Some even have Jeanty as the highest-rated prospect in the draft and have compared him to Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson.
One of those people is Emmanuel Acho, who noted that finding a quality running back like Jeanty would be an incredibly impactful asset for any team.
“Shoutout to defensive players, but we just do not have the opportunity to impact the game as much as Ashton Jeanty,” Acho said on The Facility.
“He can touch the ball 28-32 times a game. We saw what Saquon Barkley did with the Philadelphia Eagles. We saw what Derrick Henry did with the Baltimore Ravens. Ashton Jeanty had five touchdowns of 70 yards or more last season. That ties LaDainian Tomlinson for an FBS record,” added the former linebacker.
It was high praise from Acho. In just a few sentences, he went on to compare Jeanty to some of the best running backs in the NFL, as well as 2006 MVP LaDainian Tomlinson. And while it might sound surprising, Acho’s remarks could end up being spot on.
Jeanty moves and plays like a guy who could walk onto an NFL roster and impact the franchise immediately. He’s that good. Jeanty ran for over 2600 yards last season and threatened Barry Sanders’ all-time college rushing record. He’s what we call a can’t-miss prospect.
As Acho explained: “When I think about a guy who can change a franchise, who can touch the ball the most, who can impact the game the most, and who I believe is a can’t-miss prospect on offense. I think it’s Ashton Jeanty.”
.@EmmanuelAcho dubs Ashon Jeanty as the Biggest franchise changer in this year’s NFL Draft
“He’s a can’t miss prospect on offense.” pic.twitter.com/CHjo1CtE4z
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) April 21, 2025
Jeanty has had a bit of a mercurial mock draft forecasting process. Some publications have him going as high as sixth to the Las Vegas Raiders, while others have him going as late as 20th to the Denver Broncos. But to be fair, first-round running backs are usually a bit harder to forecast due to other teams’ tendencies to select a quarterback or defensive player early on.
However, first-round backs typically go higher, especially when they’re as exciting as Jeanty. Think of Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley, and Todd Gurley. All of those players went in the top 10 of their respective drafts. When a difference-maker at the position is setting the college scene on fire, they’re hard to pass up.
We’ll see what ends up happening, but we’re with Acho here. Jeanty is a can’t-miss prospect and should be going top 10 come D-Day.
