The Ancient History of Running Backs Drafted at No. 5

If Ashton Jeanty is selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 5 overall, it will make him the first running back at that spot since 2005.

December 20, 2009; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson (21) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The days are quickly flying by before the Jacksonville Jaguars make the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and there certainly seems to be some momentum swinging in one player's direction.

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty has been a popular project for the Jaguars over the last week, with even experts such as The Athletic's Dane Brugler having the elite running back prospect mocked to the Jaguars at No. 5.

But the recent history of running backs in the top-5 spells a murky picture for Jacksonville if they want to go that direction. In fact, taking Jeanty at No. 5 would break a 20-year stretch that otherwise seems no closer to ending.

The last time a running back was taken at No. 5 overall was in the 2005 NFL Draft, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selecting Cadillac Williams. A running back going No. 5 in that era was not exactly foreign, either, with other players such as Curtis Enis, Ricky Williams, Jamal Lewis, and LaDainian Tomlinson all going at No. 5 from 1998 through 2001.

But since then, the NFL has certainly shifted the way it views the running back position. While five running backs went with the No. 5 pick in the span from 1998 to 2005, the amount of running backs in the top-5 have dried up in the two decades since.

Since 2005, there have only been six running backs selected in the top-5 in general: Reggie Bush in 2006, Darren McFadden in 2008, Trent Richardson in 2012, Ezekiel Elliott in 2016, Leonard Fournette in 2017, and Saquon Barkley in 2018.

Bush finished the third-most rushing yards in his class; McFadden finished sixth; Richardson finished sixth; Elliott is currently second; Fournette is eighth; and Barkley is first, but by fewer than 400 yards.

In short, Barkley is the only one of the six who has actually been the best running back in the draft class. All of these running backs were touted as the next big thing at the time, much like Jeanty is now. Y

ou would have been laughed out of a war room in 2017 if you said Fournette was the eighth-best running back in his class, but that is just how these things work out sometimes.

But the simple fact of the NFL Draft process is that no team can truly trust their evaluations enough to take such a bet in the top-5.

The draft is largely about odds and calculated risks. The NFL has shown us in the last 20 years that running backs in the top-5 rarely work out, regardless of the context of the draft class. The Jaguars and all draft evaluators may be confident Jeanty is the best running back in the class, but there is so much more that goes into rushing production.

Any confidence here feels like overconfidence, even with how gifted Jeanty is. And the history of running backs in the top-5 has proven that.

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