NFL insider shuts down Ashton Jeanty-Jaguars draft rumors, reveals sleeper candidate with No. 5 pick for Liam Coen

Ashton Jeanty's draft projection has been a hot topic of conversation for the past few weeks. Last season, he led the Boise State Broncos to a Mountain West title and the quarterfinals of the 12-team playoffs. The running back finished second in Heisman voting behind the winner, Travis Hunter.

Draft experts and analysts project Ashton Jeanty as a first-round pick. He has been linked to the Las Vegas Raiders as the potential No.6 pick. However, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler views the Jacksonville Jaguars as a 'sleeper' franchise that is in contention for the Boise State star. The Jaguars have the fifth-overall pick in the first round of the draft.

However, NFL insider John Frascella disapproved of Jeremy Fowler's take about Ashton Jeanty. In a tweet on X, he criticized Fowler for his lack of research on the matter. Frascella then talked about the real 'sleeper' option for the Jacksonville Jaguars at the No.5 pick.

"It's just crazy how little research these 'Experts' do.... Jeremy Fowler is usually one of the best, but if you've been doing your research you know Liam Coen really likes his RB duo of Travis Etienee & Tank Bigsby...the REAL sleeper for the Jags at 5 is DT Derrick Harmon."

Derrick Harmon began his collegiate journey with the Michigan State Spartans. After three seasons, he decided to join Dan Lanning's Oregon Ducks last year. During the 2024 campaign, Harmon played in 14 games while tallying 45 total tackles, four passes defended, and 5.0 sacks.

Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby have been the RB duo for Liam Coen the past few seasons. Thus, unless there are plans to move on from them, Frascella believes that drafting Ashton Jeanty would not be fruitful for the Jaguars.

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Ashton Jeanty expresses confidence and lists what he brings to teams in the NFL

Last week, Ashton Jeanty made an appearance on the Rich Eisen show. Eisen questioned the Boise State RB about the qualities and skillset he brings to the table for the team that drafts him.

The running back gave a confident answer while expressing his desire to build a legacy in the NFL.

"Man, they get a guy who's gonna change and make this organization for the better," Jeanty said. "It's obviously a lot of great organizations, a lot of great players. But you know what I bring to the table is leadership, a person who's going to be able to connect with everybody in the locker room, and not only that, but make them better."

"Push them to higher limits, obviously an asset, you know, on the offensive side of the ball, and then just the community, right, you know, doing things in the community, bringing change and, most importantly a legacy for the people to follow. You know, because a legacy is what you leave behind, and I'll leave it behind, nothing but greatness."

According to DraftKings, the Las Vegas Raiders have the best odds of drafting Jeanty (-150). It will be interesting to see where he lands in the first round of the 2025 draft.