3 reasons Jaguars fans should hate Ashton Jeanty to Jacksonville buzz at No. 5 overall

The 2025 NFL Draft is now just days away, and few teams have as much at stake as the Jacksonville Jaguars and their young, new regime.

This will be the franchise’s first draft class under general manager James Gladstone, 34. Ditto for head coach Liam Coen, 39. The Jaguars hold 10 total selections in this year’s draft, including pick No. 5 overall, and what direction they go on Day 1 could be a tone-setting moment for this draft as a whole.

Jacksonville will enter Round 1 of the draft as a true wild-card, with glaring needs on both sides of the football and a roster currently undergoing an overhaul. Coen has talked up his current skill position group, however, and Sportskeedia’s Tony Pauline believes buzz will continue to escalate around the Jags selecting superstar Boise State running back prospect Ashton Jeanty with their first-round pick.

“There are several reasons Jacksonville is said to be considering Jeanty with the selection,” Pauline wrote, “including that no other player available at five possesses the elite skills and traits Jeanty does; in other words, he’s the best player available.”

Pauline’s not the first to float this rumor, as Jeanty’s odds continue to climb toward Jacksonville being the landing spot. So is the 21-year-old running back really the “missing piece” for this rebuilding Jaguars roster?

Here are three reasons why fans should hate the growing buzz around Jeanty being the Jaguars preference at pick No. 5 overall:

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1. Drafting Jeanty makes no sense for the Jaguars current depth chart 

Adding a game-changing running back early in the draft has worked for teams like the Atlanta Falcons with Bijan Robinson and Detroit Lions with Jamyr Gibbs. Jeanty could be just as impactful, but where would he fit on Jacksonville’s current depth chart?

The Jags currently have Travis Etienne playing on a fifth-year option, which will pay him $6.1 million fully guaranteed this season. That number makes him much harder to offload in a trade, especially after his down year in 2024. 

Jacksonville also has Tank Bigsby, who was one of the few bright spots during last year’s dismal season. Coen already has his two-headed monster at running back. Cramming Jeanty into the mix just doesn’t make much sense, given Etienne’s contract.

2. Jacksonville needs an impact player on defense 

The Jaguars have a pair of franchise pillars in EDGE rushers Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, but that didn’t stop their defense from being one of the worst in the NFL last season.

Jacksonville desperately needs to add impact players on that side of the ball. Michigan’s Mason Graham has been a popular projection at No. 5 overall, and he would make a lot more sense for the team’s long-term outlook than another first-round running back.

3. This is one of the deepest running back classes in decades

Jeanty was so productive and dominant at Boise State that it’s hard to look past that shiny toy in the top 5-to-10 picks of the draft. Taking him that high feels way too aggressive, however, as this year’s draft class is loaded with running back talent.

The Jaguars could address much bigger needs — like defensive tackle, offensive tackle, wide receiver or cornerback — and still target a phenom talent like Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson or Quinshon Judkins on Day 2 of the draft. That feels like the sweet spot to target running backs this season.

Hopefully there’s no smoke around fire of these Jeanty to Jacksonville rumors, because that would be a polarizing move to start the Gladstone-Coen era, to put it lightly.

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