Ashton Jeanty already receiving love from analysts

Sometimes, it feels as though Ashton Jeanty living up to the hype in his rookie season feels impossible.

Given his near-historic final season at Boise State, the expectations for Jeanty are that he will dominate the NFL out of the gate. The Las Vegas Raiders certainly hope so, as they invested heavily in the running back with the sixth overall pick in April’s draft. New head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly have built teams that have thrived on strong running games, and the uber-talented Jeanty seems destined to be the next beneficiary.

Before that, however, Jeanty continues to enter conversations that he should have no business being a part of yet.

Analysts are already respecting Jeanty before he even plays a snap.

In his list of the top 32 running backs in the NFL, Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema placed Jeanty at No. 13 in the rankings.

”Only four running backs in the PFF era have earned elite PFF rushing grades as rookies: Adrian Peterson (2007), Alfred Morris (2012), De’Von Achane (2023) and Bucky Irving (2024). Jeanty could very well be the fifth, and the third in a row,” wrote Sikkema.

”In 2024, he set PFF college records with a 96.6 PFF rushing grade, 1,970 yards after contact and 152 missed tackles forced.”

In a vacuum, the ranking is nothing to write home about, but keep in mind that Jeanty is receiving this ranking before beginning his first training camp, let alone his first NFL game.

Some of the names Jeanty is ahead of on the list include more established players such as Jonathan Taylor (Indianapolis Colts), Breece Hall (New York Jets) and Joe Mixon (Houston Texans). Sikkema is already considering Jeanty better than these players, and has the rookie knocking on the door of the top ten. If Jeanty enjoys the elite first season many around the NFL expect him to have, it would not be a surprise if he is seen as a top-five running back in the league.

Fans and analysts alike are now only a couple of months away until Jeanty makes his professional debut, where he will aim to prove that the hype is justified.