The Dallas Cowboys need a long-term solution at running back. Boise State Broncos star Ashton Jeanty is regarded as the best runner available in the 2025 NFL Draft. With the Cowboys picking just outside of the top 10, many fans and experts believe that the stars will align in Green Bay next month, when the Cowboys will take Jeanty in the first round and — at last — have their Ezekiel Elliott replacement.
But there are some concerns popping up around Jeanty in the days following the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Even though the 21-year-old is coming off a 2024 season in which his 2,601 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns steered Boise State to a historic College Football Playoff appearance, the Cowboys have been advised by a national college football expert to think twice before making Jeanty the 12th overall pick in the draft.
Jeanty’s height, a big concern
Across NFL history, only four running backs who measured 5’8” or shorter ended up rushing for 4,500 yards or more. CBS Sports analyst Tom Fornelli highlighted this fact in a recent mock draft after Jeanty’s Combine measurements were reported at 5’8”.5 and 211 pounds.
“I’m not here to tell you Jeanty will be a bust because I don’t believe that to be the case,” Fornelli wrote. “All I’m trying to say is that if he isn’t, he’ll be an outlier. There’s far more risk here than we all seem to realize.”
Jeanty’s gaudy statistics and powerful running stride have made him the pick of the bunch in this year’s running back crop. Although he did not compete in any drills at the Combine, it remains very possible that Jeanty is the only running back selected in the first round of the 2025 draft — and the Cowboys, coming off a disappointing 7-10 season in 2024, are under pressure to make a splash at the draft.
Concerns about Jeanty’s height and the value of his huge NCAA career in the context of a weaker conference may follow him into the first weeks or months of his NFL career. It will be up to him to dispel those fears, and the team that drafts him — whether it is the Cowboys or not — will have to develop him in the best way.
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