Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty Mocked to Broncos by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.

The offseason is here and the mock drafts have started to flow. With the Shrine Bowl starting this week and the Senior Bowl next week, the lead-up to the 2025 NFL draft is officially garnering intrigue from NFL fanbases.
Denver Broncos fans find themselves in relative unknown territory. The Broncos are picking in the back portion of Round 1 following the team’s first playoff berth in many years, and the team's long search for a young viable franchise-caliber quarterback appears to be over following an impressive first season from Bo Nix.
With that answered, where might Sean Payton and his Broncos team go in the draft? To truly kick off the offseason, ESPN’s long-time NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. released his first official mock of the 2025 cycle. Projecting for the Broncos, Kiper mocked Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty to the Broncos at pick No. 20 overall.
"I've made it clear how I feel about taking a running back in the first round, but I'm not the one making the picks. And make no mistake, Jeanty is going to go in the first round. He's a top-10 prospect with incredible elusiveness. Jeanty piled up 2,601 rushing yards and 29 rushing scores this season. The Broncos, meanwhile, couldn't establish the run to help out rookie quarterback Bo Nix. Their running backs were in the bottom 10 in rushing yards (1,423), rushing TDs (8) and yards per carry (4.1) in 2024. Lead back Javonte Williams' contract is expiring, and although Denver drafted Audric Estime in the fifth round last April, it could make a Day 1 splash at the position this year. And an added bonus: Jeanty is a great pass catcher out of the backfield, which would give Nix another outlet," Kiper wrote.
The Broncos not only have quarterback locked down but also appear to be fairly solidified at a majority of the “premium” positions. Denver has its offensive tackles locked up for the foreseeable future in Garett Bolles and Mike McGlinchey.
Denver probably won’t consider a first-round cornerback to play opposite superstar Patrick Surtain II given how Riley Moss looked prior to his injury. The Broncos are also four-deep at edge rusher, with Jonathon Cooper, Nik Bonitto, Jonah Elliss, and Dondrea Tillman in the fold.
Denver could certainly add another wide receiver to the room given Courtland Sutton’s age and Marvin Mims Jr. emerging more as a gadget player. The Broncos could also bolster the interior defensive line with D.J. Jones hitting free agency, Zach Allen playing a very likely unsustainable volume of snaps, and Malcolm Roach and John Franklin-Myers each entering a contract year. However, picking at No. 20 and with options at the premium positions, the Broncos might be able to afford a somewhat “luxury” selection.
Is Jeanty a luxury? Perhaps. Running backs have a short shelf life and tend to be a position that is not hard to find starters littered throughout the draft. However, by and large, the true difference-makers at the position currently in the league are former first-round draft picks such as Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Bijan Robinson.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton has also historically utilized and valued the running back position. During his time 16 years with the New Orleans Saints, he used multiple first-round picks on a running back, including Reggie Bush and Melvin Ingram II. The Saints’ backfield also was always near the top of the league in combined touches for the running back, utilizing them as runners and pass-catchers about as much as any system in the NFL.
The real question is whether Jeanty would actually fall to Denver at 20. That remains to be seen.
Jeanty is considered one of the best players in the entire 2025 draft, but in an incredibly deep running back class (a devalued position), perhaps teams will bypass him in favor of other talent and take a ball-carrier later on.
Jeanty would vastly improve the Broncos offense and would arguably springboard the unit immediately more than any other player in the draft class. While not an absolutely massive back, he has fine size for the position.
Jeanty breaks tackles at a historical rate with elite contact balance, runs with good vision and pacing, and is an adequate blocker with more pass-catching prowess than was displayed in 2025. If he landed in Denver, the expectation for him would be a top-8 back in the league from day one.
The Broncos’ running back room was abysmal last season and is set to lose the only back the team apparently trusted on pass downs in Williams. Denver will undoubtedly add at least one running back this offseason with a fairly substantial investment.
Jeanty is the premier option at the position and I'd imagine Denver would spring to the podium if he were to fall to pick 20 overall in April.
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