Ashton Jeanty specifically mentions the Broncos as ‘talking to him the most’

Ashton Jeanty is largely regarded as the best running back in the NFL Draft.

And the consensus is there’s almost no shot the Denver Broncos can land him at No. 20 overall. Jeanty will likely be long gone by then.

However, in a recent interview with Overtime, Jeanty specifically mentioned the Broncos as a team that talked to him the most at the NFL Combine. Could a potential trade up from head coach Sean Payton and GM George Paton be an option? Perhaps.

Take a look at what Jeanty had to say.

Top RB prospect Ashton Jeanty specifically mentioned the Broncos as a team who has spoken to him the most in the pre-draft process:

“The Denver Broncos…they were heavy on me.” 👀 (via @overtime) pic.twitter.com/j1lDndqpV3

— Amir Farrell (@BroncosAve) April 15, 2025

“Really, the Denver Broncos, they was heavy on me. And the Raiders, they was heavy. Like, we was talking the most,” Ashton Jeanty said. “They was talking to me the whole time.”

An early mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. had Jeanty falling to the Broncos at No. 20. However, his stock continues to rise, and a more recent mock from the top expert has Jeanty going No. 6 to the Raiders, who of course the former Boise State star mentions above.

Jeanty had a monster year in 2024, rushing for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns. He finished a close second to CU’s Travis Hunter in the Heisman Trophy voting.

In 2023, Jeanty had 43 catches for 569 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver. Those numbers dipped last year, but he’d be not only an incredible running back for the Broncos, but also a threat in the passing game for Bo Nix.

As we saw in the NFL playoffs, having an elite running back is important. The Eagles wouldn’t have won the Super Bowl without a guy like Saquon Barkley. Denver needs to give Nix a weapon like that, but at what cost?

Trading up in the draft is expensive. So Payton and Paton will have to weigh whether or not that makes sense for a guy like Ashton Jeanty. Regardless, the Broncos were in his ear at the combine.

We’ll see what it all means in nine days when the 2025 NFL Draft finally arrives.

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