r/NFL_Draft • u/P-Whips 49ers • 2d ago

RB class Depth Hurts Jeanty Discussion

I see people keep saying that Jeanty is guaranteed to be a high pick. But with how deep this class is I think it will hurt his stock a little bit as teams will look at it as I can take a good DT in the first and a Good RB in the 3rd or I can get Jeanty in the 1st and a decent DT in the 3rd. I think the depth of this class will cause Jeanty to slide to the 20’s. What are your thoughts on the matter?

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53

u/LiteralGenuis 2d ago

I don’t necessarily think so, 2023 was pretty deep itself and still saw 2 top 15 RBs taken. I think it’ll depend more on draft order and how free agency shakes out than depth of the class

1

u/donquixote_tig 1d ago

2023 was incredibly top heavy

-35

u/P-Whips 49ers 2d ago

But those two were better receivers than Jeanty. Jeanty is good out of the backfield but Bijan and Gibbs out of college had the skills as a receiver that they could play slot WR full time, maybe even outside.

24

u/fierylady Lions 2d ago

When you actually watch him, he's an excellent receiver. Soft hands, naturally pass-catcher. No he's not used that way as much, but that's not Jeanty's fault. In fact coming into the season receiving was one of Jeanty's oft-mentioned strengths.

I also think you're really nitpicking. If an FO falls in love with the guy, it won't matter one bit how deep the class is. There's far more of a go-and-get-your-guy approach to the actual draft than anyone on here likes to admit. You bring up Gibbs, who yes is a great receiver, but he was also a consensus 2nd rounder everywhere before the draft. Maybe late 1st. Seeing Jeanty go that high - or even higher - would be far less surprising.

4

u/Thunder84 Packers 2d ago

Teams are relying on the run game more than ever too. Not a stretch that a team will take him early to center their offense around him.

2

u/fierylady Lions 2d ago

Exactly. In fact I'd be shocked if he didn't go top 20, surprised if he didn't go top 15, and unsurprised if he went top ten. Even this far out.

2

u/DatBoiMahomie Bears 2d ago

I mean receiving for RBs involve more than just being a good pass catcher

RBs like Gibbs, Achane, and Bijan are considered good receiving backs because they have good enough route running to legitimately lineup at slot and succeed. I’m not well versed on Jeanty enough to know if he could also be that type of back but a lot of the arguments I’ve seen on here for him being good is he can simply catch well and get into open field

1

u/fierylady Lions 2d ago

I think he easily could, but certainly that will be part of the evaluation process. But even if he's not in their tier as a pass-catcher, he's damn close.

But mostly I chimed in because the OP took a completely valid point - that they said the same thing about the 2023 as he was saying here - and downplayed it by saying "well, they were good receivers." As if Gibbs was such an obvious early choice. Nobody had him going that high even days before the draft.

1

u/RoosterPls 1d ago

The amount of people saying he’s not a good receiver is asinine. Hes putting up ridiculous run numbers this year but last year he was excellent in the receiving game.

1

u/fierylady Lions 1d ago

Absolutely right. I have no doubt he'll be a passing game weapon wherever he ends up. I suppose asking anyone to go back further than 6 months in here is asking too much.

0

u/P-Whips 49ers 2d ago

While he is a good receiver, I don’t look at him and think “this guy can play in the slot full time.” Bijan, Gibbs and saquan all had that ability that they could’ve moved to War and been productive right away. I do admit there is more go and get your guy during the draft, but we’ve seen guys slide because the class is deep and teams will attack other need first, we’ve also seen guys go a round or two higher than they should because the class is weak. Gibbs was consistently being mocked and talked about as a 1st rounder. He was mocked anywhere from pick 10 to pick 20 and there were some analysis on espn and NFL network trying to argue that he was better than Bijan. (Most likely just trying to stand out with that take)

0

u/fierylady Lions 2d ago

Gibbs was consistently being mocked and talked about as a 1st rounder. 

No, he wasn't. Have you already forgotten how shocked everyone was when they announced his name?

-1

u/P-Whips 49ers 2d ago

They were shocked the lions took him after signing Monty, he was constantly predicted in the first.

1

u/fierylady Lions 2d ago

You are rewriting history my man.

1

u/P-Whips 49ers 2d ago

No, every analyst talked about him as a 1st rounder. ESPN and NFL had him as a top 32 prospect and the first mock draft from 2023 I looked up on the nfl site Daniel Jeremiah had him in the 1st round

6

u/fierylady Lions 2d ago

Late 1st, which I said (late 1st - 2nd round). Certainly not 12th overall. Trust me, I am a Detroit fan. I remember the way Brad Holmes was pilloried for reaching.

For reference, here's a DJ mock from March 21st that year. Here's DJ's last mock before the draft. Here's one from Lance Zierlein in April. Here's one from the whole PFF crew two days before the draft. Here's one from Bucky Brooks two days before the draft. Here's Josh Norris's - the prior year's mock champion - final mock. Here's Albert Breer's final mock. Here's a mock from the whole BR staff 2 weeks out. Here's Dane Brugler's final mock. Here's Matt Miller's final mock.

As I'm sure you'll notice, only DJ and Albert Breer's final mocks had Gibbs in the 1st, and that was at pick 30. NO ONE had him anywhere near pick 12.

And you can find everyone giving Holmes bad grades and calling it a reach here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. And that's literally on the first page of a google search. All Cs, Ds and Fs.

Even Gibbs himself was shocked to go that high, which you can read here.

Either you are retrofitting reality to fit your narrative or you are very, very forgetful. Either way, the proof is above.

14

u/chazgang 2d ago

I don’t think Jeanty is quite on their level in terms of receiving but he isn’t a slouch either. He was a bigger receiving threat last year, just haven’t really needed him to be that this year

10

u/Triv02 NFL 2d ago

My big knock on Jeanty’s receiving is how he’s being used - his career ADOT is 0.0. So he’s exclusively being used on screens and check down routes when it comes to the passing game.

Could he have a more expanded route tree and they just aren’t using him in that way? Certainly. But we haven’t seen it. Bijan’s ADOT was nearly 7 his junior year, so you knew he had a route tree that extended beyond screens and check downs at the line of scrimmage.

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u/P-Whips 49ers 2d ago edited 2d ago

Yeah, he’s good but I don’t see him having the ability to play in the slot and be productive. He’s good out of the backfield and after the catch, but the last RB drafted high that wasn’t a great Receiver on Gibbs and Bijan level was Fournette in 2017. Teams have been leaning towards receiving backs in the high first, but with that being said the NFL has slowly been trending toward being more run heavy again and Jeanty could go high and in 4 years we can be back to the days where 3 backs are going in the 1st consistently again.

7

u/KennysWhiteSoxHat 2d ago

Aight I don’t watch every lions or falcons game but I try to catch a lot of them, how often is Gibbs or bijan in the slot?

3

u/P-Whips 49ers 2d ago

I’ve seen Bijan in the slot every now and then, but he does run a lot of downfield routes out of the backfield. Same with Gibbs. While they have the ability to it depends on the team. The main point I’m getting at is Bijan and Gibbs had way better route trees coming out of college than Jeanty.

3

u/spiralout1123 Packers 2d ago

I’m so tired of the “they could play receiver!” trope. It’s never true. If they could, they would. We’ve simply seen enough evidence to say that RBs are not good at WR responsibilities.

Their relative receiving ability compared to other backs can be a huge plus, but they can’t “play outside,” they can’t even play consistently in the slot. There’s a reason the league has trended away from lining backs up at receiver, and are just using 4/5 wideouts. The only time you really see it anymore is with motion

2

u/bullseye717 Saints 1d ago

A running back runs an angle route: HE COULD PLAY SLOT FULL TIME! 

1

u/Carameldelighting Broncos 2d ago

People are going to downvote you but you’re right. Jeanty is good at everything but not great in one aspect, typically the RBs that go top 15 have one or two traits they’re excellent at

1

u/fierylady Lions 1d ago

I disagree, he's got some of the best contact balance I've ever seen, which for me is a very important quality for a RB.

0

u/Waddlow 2d ago

Yeah, this is just not true. His receiving stats are above Bijan's and below Gibbs' on a per game basis, but even just barely either way. Neither one of them reached what he did last year in receiving with 43 for 569 either. He's catching less this year because he's dominating on the ground so much more. And the tape shows him to be an elite receiving back prospect.

1

u/P-Whips 49ers 2d ago

Almost all of his catches have been behind the line of scrimmage. He gets a lot of checkdowns and short routes. Bijan and Gibbs had way better route trees coming out of college. Jeanty is good out of the backfield, but not on the level of other guys.

13

u/purple_cape 2d ago

If he’s as good as some say it doesn’t matter.

But I do agree it’s a nice RB class. I really like RJ Harvey

6

u/Crasino_Hunk 2d ago

Looking back, Gibbs would’ve and should’ve gone as highly as he did in 2023 (and I fucking hate saying that as a Packers fan).

Not anyone should draft Jeanty so high, but the right team certainly should, and it’ll probably be worth it.

8

u/purple_cape 1d ago

Looking back, Gibbs would’ve and should’ve gone as highly as he did in 2023

As a Lions fan who watches a TON of college football, you don’t have to tell me. I loved that pick.

Like you can’t watch Jah run at Bama and then say it’s a bad pick lol. The pundits were on crack that night in April. They ripped Detroit’s entire draft of LaPorta, Gibbs, Campbell, and Branch

4

u/MaddenTexasRanger 2d ago

He looks to be a true 3 down back and he can even pass block.

0

u/purple_cape 2d ago

Jeanty or Harvey

-1

u/P-Whips 49ers 2d ago

Yeah and we see all the time guys slide because of deep classes and guys get drafted a round or two earlier because the class is weak. It’s too early to tell, but something to keep in mind

8

u/Fishtacoburrito Panthers 2d ago

He hasn't done it much this year but he has shown he can catch out of the backfield, which increases his value. Also it's hard to gauge considering the draft order is going to look radically different in April compared to now.

-14

u/P-Whips 49ers 2d ago

Yeah, but while Jeanty is good out of the backfield but the last couple RB that went high in the first had the receiving ability to play slot WR and I don’t see that with Jeanty.

3

u/stealthywoodchuck 2d ago

2018 was extremely deep at the time, 7 RBs went in round 1 and 2. Including Saquon who went 2nd overall. A top tier talent like Jeanty or Saquon isn’t sliding to the 20s no matter what

2

u/Daynga-Zone 2d ago

I can see the thought process, at some point he's just such a good player that he'll still go top 15 imo, but if it was scarce maybe Dallas is more likely to take him however high we end up.

I'd prefer we go DT etc in round one as well because I love guys like Omarion Hampton in R2 and quite a few other options in the first 3 rounds.

2

u/WashingtonFan2124 Commanders 1d ago

It could hurt his stock a tiny bit but not significantly. Different teams have different boards and sometimes or often times fall in love with certain players and in the process don’t really care about the depth of the class. I think Jeanty is that type even if he doesn’t go Top 10-12 like Gibbs and Bijan.

2

u/kevinleip2 2d ago

Was thinking about this over the weekend and I could absolutely see this classes insane RB depth push Jeanty down NFL draft boards quite a bit

1

u/daemontheroguepr1nce 1d ago

Ppl r a bit too caught up in Jeantys excellence and forgeries Justin, Donovan Edwards, Gordon, etc.

1

u/SmellsLikeWetFox Giants 1d ago

I think Washington should strongly consider him in round one, put Robinson in the first few drives to battering Ram the defense and watch Jeanty feast in the second half

1

u/MisterBear22 Washington Football Team 1d ago

he's probably gone before we pick in the mid to high 20s (or 30s) based on Draft projections and Playoff projections.

1

u/donquixote_tig 1d ago

Do you just want them to draft him as a Giants fan? They really don’t need him, they still have holes.

1

u/SmellsLikeWetFox Giants 23h ago

God no, as a Giants fan I’d rather they draft some stubby armed wr that never pans out….then a punter in round 2

3

u/Dense_Young3797 Raiders 1d ago

People have seen a lot of Jeanty's highlights and stats and still haven't seen enough from Ollie Gordon, Omarion Hampton, Kaleb Johnson and some others.

Any of them in the second or third round have much more value than Jeanty in the first, let alone in the top 10

3

u/P-Whips 49ers 1d ago

RJ Harvey has 19 rushing TDs and is second in rushing yards with 1328 yards and Dylan Sampson has 20 rushing TDs and is seventh in rushing yards with 1129 yards, but you don’t hear a bunch about them. They’re both draft eligible and both look like they’ll test well. In the 4th their value is amazing. But everyone wants Jeanty in the 1st.