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Ashton Jeanty is undoubtedly one of the top talents heading into the 2025 NFL draft, and certainly the top running back on the board.
But with many teams fairly covered at the running back position, it’s possible that Jeanty could slide down the board if a halfback-needy team like the Dallas Cowboys doesn’t select him in the middle of the first round.
“If you look around the NFL right now, most teams have a stable. Most teams have a No. 1, No. 2. Most teams don’t have a big need at running back,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said during Thursday’s First Draft. (15:00 mark). “And that’s why, a guy like Jeanty, if he gets past Dallas, where does he go? And that’s what’s going to be really interesting, where the sixth guy on my board—high on [Field Yates’ board]—is gonna drop because of that. Dallas is pivotal, in terms of this whole mock draft or figuring out where guys are going to go, if they pass on Jeanty or they take him.”
Yates, for what it’s worth, projected the Cowboys to select Jeanty at No. 12 overall.
It would be the sort of splashy selection that Jerry Jones loves, though it would go against the team’s recent draft strategy of taking players at more premium positions in the first round like the offensive and defensive lines or wide receiver. The team did select Ezekiel Elliott in the first round, though that was back in 2016.
And while running back is undoubtedly a need, Rico Dowdle has looked solid in recent weeks, averaging 119.5 rushing yards per game over his past four contests. Has that been enough of a surge for the Cowboys to consider waiting on the position at the draft and finding a platoon option for Dowdle?
Jeanty would be an upgrade, no doubt. But the 6-8 Cowboys have plenty of other needs around the roster. They’ll be the team to watch when it comes to Jeanty’s draft stock, though teams later in the first round like the Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers or Denver Broncos would also make plenty of sense.