Ashton Jeanty entered the league with as much fanfare as any rookie running back in recent memory and did not deliver on it. The fantasy community has spent the offseason treating that as a referendum on the player. A closer look at what actually happened tells a very different story. Fantasy managers who bailed after one season may be walking away at exactly the wrong time.
Should You Draft Ashton Jeanty in Fantasy Football?
In PFN’s Free Fantasy Mock Draft Simulator, Jeanty is being selected as a late 1st-round, early 2nd-round pick depending on how many people are in your league. His ADP is 11.2. But PFN’s fantasy experts Jason Katz and Kyle Soppe are not quite as high on Jeanty as the average drafter in our simulator tends to be. They have Jeanty as the 24th overall player on their fantasy football rankings. That’s RB11, so a low-end RB1, high-end RB2, again depending on how many people are in your league.
The big question now is the low ankle sprain that Jeanty had. Ultimately, it’s a massive relief that nothing serious came out of that injury, but it is an injury worth considering. He might miss Week 1, so if you’re drafting him, that’s something you need to be prepared for. There’s also the risk it might take him a little bit longer to get back up to full speed coming off an ankle injury. It goes without saying that it’s got running in the name. At running back, you need to have a healthy ankle to play that position at a high level.
Jeanty didn’t quite have the rookie year that a lot of people were anticipating, but a lot of that was not his fault. That offensive line gave him no room to work with in the backfield. He was consistently getting met with contact behind or at the line of scrimmage. The fact that he even put up a somewhat respectable yards-per-carry average last year is mind-boggling.
All that said, they did bring in Tyler Linderbaum. I still have some questions about that Raiders offensive line, and about how Jeanty is going to look coming off injury, at least in those first couple weeks.
At his current ADP of 11.2, I would not take Jeanty. He’s somebody I have firmly in the 2nd-round range, around that 24th overall range. Our fantasy experts have him as a 3rd-round type of guy, so they’re even lower on him than I am. Jeanty certainly has the potential, the ability, and the surroundings to do better this year than he did as a rookie. But all things considered, I still think 11.2 as an ADP for Jeanty is way too high.
FANTASY RANKINGS: PFN’s FREE Fantasy PPR, Half-PPR, and Non-PPR Rankings
FANTASY RANKINGS: PFN’s FREE Fantasy PPR, Half-PPR, and Non-PPR Rankings
Ashton Jeanty’s Week 1 Fantasy Outlook
Analysis provided by PFN Analyst Kyle Soppe.
Maybe we as a community are a bit too online?
It felt like funeral services were being arranged for Jeanty’s 2026 season the second reports broke in late August that he was helped off the field and that the players appeared to fear the injury.
That was around dinner time, and before you put the kids down for bed, we had a Scheffter tweet downplaying the impact.
Crisis averted, and there’s a real chance that you got a good price on Jeanty when all was said and done this draft season. We saw him explode in a prime spot against the Bears last season, so you lose some equity in Week 1, but all things considered, I think you’re going to be happy with this investment.
Upcoming Schedule
Week 2 at Chargers
Week 3 at Saints
Week 4 vs. Chiefs
Week 5 at Patriots
At full strength, I don’t think the ceiling is high enough because of the environment to label Jeanty as a top-10 threat, but he can knock on that door in good spots (eyes emoji: at Cardinals in Week 17) and is a trustworthy RB2 when anywhere close to full strength.
START PREPARING: PFN’s FREE Fantasy Draft Simulator
START PREPARING: PFN’s FREE Fantasy Draft Simulator
Where Jeanty Ranks Among 2026 Running Backs
- Derrick Henry | BAL
- De’Von Achane | MIA
- Kenneth Walker III | KC
- Omarion Hampton | LAC
- Jeremiyah Love | ARI
- Ashton Jeanty | LV
- Javonte Williams | DAL
- Travis Etienne Jr. | NO
- Breece Hall | NYJ
- D’Andre Swift | CHI
- Kyren Williams | LAR
Know the position inside and out with every RB, ranked, on PFN’s 2026 PPR Board.
