The Jacksonville Jaguars are in one of the most peculiar situations of any team in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Picking at No. 5 overall, the Jaguars are in a zone of uncertainty. There are very few blue-chip players in the draft class, and chances are most will be off the board by the time the Jaguars are on the clock.
The one blue-chip player who is almost surely going to be there is Boise State's Ashton Jeanty. The Heisman Trophy runner-up is an elite talent, but plays a position of decreased value in today's era -- even after the breakout year of the running back in 2024.
The 2024 season saw several running backs on new teams take their offenses to new heights, with the movement being led by Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, and Josh Jacobs.
And while that veteran trio certainly helped advance things for the valuation of the running back position, there were also performances at the position last year that would add to the evidence pile against taking Jeanty at No. 5.
Chief among those performances is one who head coach Liam Coen is very familiar with: Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving, who helped the Buccaneers completely transform their rushing attack under Coen.
Coen and the Buccaneers found out what they had in Irving early on, leading to the rookie taking over as the offense's workhorse and recording 1,514 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns.
"There's not many better people than Bucky in terms of the way his process went. I mean, he was one of the first guys in the building, 5 a.m. meeting with [Buccaneers Senior Offensive Assistant] Tom Moore on our staff in terms of just getting some of that experience. He was one of the last guys to leave," Coen said about Irving at the NFL Scouting Combine.
"So, you saw a player that was already mature beyond his years, and then, OK, he comes in and has the impact that he had both in the run, the pass, got much better in the pass protection as the year went on, dynamic in space. Just have so much respect for Bucky, both as a competitor and as a person. Wish him nothing but the best, and hopefully, we can continue to get some of that production out of the guys we have because there are a lot of similarities there.”
The catch? Irving was a fourth-round pick. While Jeanty may be the fifth player selected in the entire class, Irving was the sixth-running back drafted in 2024.
Coen got a front-row look at Irving last season. He knows how much a fourth-round pick changed for the Buccaneers last year, and he knows his team does not need to spend a top-5 pick to replicate that success.
That doesn't mean the Jaguars will or won't take Jeanty. But it does mean Coen has experienced enough recent success to know they don't have to.
Be sure you follow on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley and never miss another breaking story from us ever again.
We also want to hear from you, so you can let us know your thoughts here when you visit our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!