Ashton Jeanty should probably thank Saquon Barkley. And Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs and Joe Mixon as well.
The 2024 NFL season was largely about the rebirth of the running back. Multiple veteran free agents signed with new teams and had huge impacts. Barkley helped his team all the way to a Super Bowl win. And Jeanty's timing couldn't be better.
With The Year of the Running Back fresh in the minds of NFL teams, Jeanty enters the NFL Draft. He's on a rare plane of running back prospects, perhaps the best since Barkley in the 2018 draft.