For three straight season, the Cowboys have stuck with their game plan in the NFL draft and done the conservative—if not always wise—thing with their first pick. They’ve gone with beefy interior linemen, taking offensive tackles Tyler Smith (2022) and Tyler Guyton (2024) and defensive lineman Mazi Smith in 2023. So maybe the team will make a shift and pick itself a playmaker in 2025.
That’s the prediction from CBS Sports, in its very early look-ahead to next year’s draft. Sure, the Cowboys will probably be picking late—they’ve gone 12-5 each of the last three seasons and should be right around there again this year—but if the team is in need of a running back, it will almost certainly find one on the board.
And the top one at this point: Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, the 5-foot-9 fireplug from Boise State.
CBS’s Chris Trapasso sees the Cowboys scooping up Jeanty with the 23rd pick in 2025. He writes: “After years of selecting non-flashy offensive linemen — or defensive tackles — in the first round, Jerry Jones gets his wish with the thunderous runner from Boise State who also comes with lightning quickness.”
Ashton Jeanty Has 9 TDs in Two Games
The Cowboys do not often pick running backs in the first round, and have not done so since 2016 when they picked Ezekiel Elliott. Then again, with the overall devaluing of the running back position in the NFL, few teams use first-rounders to fill the position—no running backs were picked in 2024 until the second round, in fact, and even then, only one went before Round 3.
Jeanty could be an exception, though. At Pro Football Focus, he is rated as the No. 11 overall prospect in the nation, and was the top-rated halfback in college football in 2023, when he went for 1,344 yards on 217 carries in 12 games. He added 14 touchdowns and 578 receiving yards on 44 catches.
Jeanty is off to an eye-popping start this year, with 267 yards and six touchdowns against Georgia Southern in Boise State’s opener, followed by 192 yards and three touchdowns in a narrow loss to Oregon. That has earned him early Heisman Trophy hype.
As Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports wrote: “Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty has put up an absolutely absurd stat line so far this season. … Jeanty’s nine touchdowns this season are by far the most of any skill position player in college football. UCF’s R.J. Harvey has scored six TDs through two games this season and no other player has more than five. Just 16 players across all of college football have scored more than three rushing and receiving touchdowns.”
Cowboys RB Room Is Lacking in 2024
The Cowboys’ running back room, of course, is a topic of much discussion these days, as the team has cobbled together a “committee” to man the position for 2024, after losing starter Tony Pollard to free agency. It was a surprise in the 2024 draft that the team declined to pick a back.
Among the “committee,” the two biggest names are Elliott and Dalvin Cook, both of whom are 29 and nearing the gasping end of their careers. Elliott is the No. 1 at this point, but will soon need a replacement.
Rico Dowdle is the Cowboys’ No. 2 and really the only back on the roster who has a chance to be the top carrier for the team beyond this season. But Dowdle had just 361 yards on 89 carries last season and is off to a mediocre start this year, with 26 yards on eight carries in the Week 1 win over the Browns.
Picking a running back in the first round is not a popular tack for NFL teams these days. But Jeanty could be an exception—and the Cowboys could use him.
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Cowboys Predicted to Add ‘Absurd’ Ezekiel Elliott Replacement