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With the NFL Draft looming, fantasy football managers are scouring for the next rookie running back who could become a fantasy league winner. If you caught the recent episode of Yahoo Fantasy Forecast featuring Matt Harmon and Andy Behrens, you know this year’s class doesn’t offer the depth of past seasons, but it does have a clear-cut RB1 prospect: Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
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The show’s fantasy experts explored why, should Jeanty land with Sean Payton’s Denver Broncos, he’d immediately warrant consideration as a first-round selection in 2025 fantasy drafts. Here’s why their reasoning makes so much sense.
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In the conversation, both Matt and Andy agree Jeanty is the “prize of this year’s running back class,” using phrases like “he just checks every box” and “one of the blue chips in this class.” Unlike previous years when fantasy managers could find value in the second or third tier of rookie backs, 2025’s class lacks that depth: “There’s not that many blue chips.” This scarcity means wherever Jeanty goes, he’ll be carrying massive fantasy expectations — especially if he joins a team that already looks like a great landing spot.
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Denver’s running game is a sleeping giant. As Matt points out, “Their running backs were god-awful in terms of creating yards for themselves. Ashton Jeanty is a tackle-breaker. He would be the central figure of this offense. I mean, it’s just a beautiful fit.” Last year, the Broncos scheme was generating open lanes, but no one in the backfield could capitalize.
Both analysts salivate at the thought of Jeanty joining Sean Payton, a coach historically unafraid to leverage a feature back, especially one with Jeanty’s tackle-breaking ability and three-down skill set. Matt says, “Ashton Jeanty, the Denver Broncos. Sean Payton, that man hates extra picks even more than Ryan Poles does. Get up the draft board … it would have a high approval rating. Let’s get Ashton Jeanty to this Denver Broncos offense.”
Andy doesn’t hide his enthusiasm for Jeanty in Denver either: “It’s a great fit. Denver is surely going to come away from this draft with one of the, one of its more exciting running backs. We just don’t know exactly who it’s going to be.” But, as both agree, if it’s Jeanty, fantasy managers may finally get what they’ve been hoping for: a Denver backfield centerpiece worthy of a first-round fantasy pick.
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Nervous about other backs eating into his workload? Andy notes, “You could do that with Ashton Jeanty, and I think we’re going to talk ourselves into it. And I think if he lands here, if he lands Chicago, there’s a handful of places where he can go where I think Ashton Jeanty is going to be like, seriously in the conversation as like a, I don’t know, ninth overall pick, 10th overall pick in fantasy.”
The top of the fantasy running back board is crowded with established stars (Saquon Barkley, Bijan Robinson, Jameer Gibbs, Derrick Henry, etc.), but neither Matt nor Andy hesitated to put Jeanty into the mix: “Like, yeah, that’s, that’s the conversation we’re having with Ashton Jeanty if he’s a, if he’s a Bear or a Bronco. Bronco. I’m ready to have that conversation.”
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Translation: if Jeanty lands in Denver, you’re looking at a three-down rookie with a clear run to 250+ touches and goal-line work in a system proven to generate productive backs out of far lesser talents.
Both Matt Harmon and Andy Behrens left no doubt — if Ashton Jeanty becomes a Denver Bronco on draft night, he’s a lock for Round 1 fantasy football value. The combo of talent, vacant depth chart, coaching philosophy and opportunity is too strong to pass up. As Matt summarized, “He would be the central figure of this offense … we should all want it to happen.”
If you’re holding a late first in your 2025 fantasy draft, and Jeanty’s wearing orange and blue (again), press the button. You might just secure the next great fantasy running back star.
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