Twenty25 NFL draft: Kiper ranks Ashton Jeanty and other recent Round 1 RBs

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty is one of the most exciting prospects in the 2025 NFL draft class.

He has rushed for 2,497 yards with 29 touchdowns this season, and he can break a big gain almost every time he touches the ball.

He just finished second in the Heisman Trophy race. Now, he’ll take center stage Tuesday, when the Broncos face Penn State in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Jeanty appears destined for Round 1 in April, and I have him ranked No. 7 overall on my Big Board. But how does he stack up against other recent running backs drafted in the first round? I looked back at 14 who have been picked on Day 1 since 2013 — the past decade, plus the 2013 and 2014 drafts that didn’t have any first-round RBs — and ranked them based my pre-draft scouting reports. Then, I slotted Jeanty where he stacks up at the moment (his evaluation can still change). How does he compare to Saquon Barkley, Bijan Robinson and Todd Gurley? How does he project in the pros? And which NFL teams make sense for him? Here’s my ranking of Jeanty versus the 14 first-round running backs of the past decade, plus what I said about each player at the time.