Running backs have been devalued in the NFL landscape for some time, and that isn’t likely to completely change as young stars like Ashton Jeanty continue filtering through the college ranks and playing out their best years on rookie-scale deals.
However, as Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles just proved, sometimes a team can win when its best player is a running back. Obviously, Jalen Hurts is an above-average quarterback in his own right (and the now-reigning Super Bowl MVP), but Barkley carried the team with a league-leading 2,283 scrimmage yards. He finished third in MVP voting and won the Offensive Player of the Year award.
On the heels of that performance, one NFL insider feels confident that teams will try to mimic the Eagles’ success and target some of the nation’s best halfbacks early and often in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Albert Breer Predicts Ashton Jeanty, Other RBs Will See Boosted Stock in NFL Draft
In his weekly column for Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer pointed out the success had by star running backs that changed teams last offseason, including Barkley, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, and others.
Of course, this year’s free agent class at the position isn’t quite as stacked — the top options are Aaron Jones (Minnesota Vikings) and Najee Harris (Pittsburgh Steelers). But teams will want to try and replicate the Eagles’ success regardless.
Thus, Breer predicts teams will spend premium currency in this year’s draft to secure their RB1s for next season.
“Boise State’s Heisman finalist, Ashton Jeanty, has long been accepted as the top back in the draft, and my guess would be it’ll stay that way until late April, and he’ll go somewhere in the first 20 picks,” Breer explained.
“Still, North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton may be good enough to give him a run for his money. And from there, there’s great depth, with Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson, Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson, Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, and Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo among those giving the class plenty of depth,” the NFL insider continued.
“It’d be hard, of course, to ask any rookie to have the impact that Barkley just had on the world champs. But it’s not too difficult to see how he illustrated that while the value of the position may not be what it was 40 years ago, having a really good one can make a difference.”
The NFL is a copycat league, after all. Remember when seemingly every team tried to hire one of Sean McVay’s disciples after the Los Angeles Rams made it to the Super Bowl in 2018?
Jeanty, projected to go sixth overall to the Las Vegas Raiders in PFSN’s latest seven-round mock draft, is the obvious crown jewel of the class. He finished second in Heisman voting this year after leading the country in rushing attempts (374), yards (2,601), and touchdowns (29).
Another house call for Deuce 🌬️
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— Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) November 24, 2024
After Jeanty, Omarion Hampton (41), Kaleb Johnson (51), Quinshon Judkins (67), and TreVeyon Henderson (75) are the next running backs predicted to go off the board in PFSN’s mock draft. Cam Skattebo (89) and DJ Giddens of Kansas State (95) are the other running backs projected to go in the first 100 picks.
As teams look for their own Barkley this offseason, don’t be surprised if even more halfbacks hear their names called during the first two days of the draft.