The Dallas Cowboys have been more active this offseason than they were last year. Cowboys fans are hopeful that their team will carry that momentum into the 2025 NFL Draft. ESPN’s Mel Kiper has the Cowboys picking a running back, but not Ashton Jeanty, in his latest 2025 NFL mock draft.
Kiper paired the Cowboys with UNC running back Omarion Hampton instead of Jeanty.
“No change on my Cowboys pick projection from my last mock draft,” Kiper wrote. “Hampton actually firmed up his first-round case at the combine, running a 4.46-second 40-yard dash and leaping 10 feet, 10 inches in the broad jump.”
Kiper believes that the running back’s big-play ability could make the Cowboys even more dangerous on offense.
“He is a home run hitter who could spark something in this Dallas running game, which has been dormant for the past two campaigns,” Kiper added. “The Cowboys averaged 4.0 yards per carry over that time, tied for fourth worst in the league.”
Kiper noted that Dallas has already added to the position this offseason. However, that should not stop the Cowboys from adding a legitimate playmaker.
“So, even after signing Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders to low-risk deals, I still think the Cowboys could draft Hampton,” Kiper concluded. “He is the kind of difference-maker they need at the position. He rushed for 3,164 yards and 30 touchdowns over the past two seasons.”
Cowboys rumored to be ‘prime candidate’ to draft Ashton Jeanty
Not everyone is as convinced as Kiper that the Cowboys would be willing to pass on a player like Jeanty.
In fact, ESPN’s Field Yates declared in a recent article that Dallas could be a ‘prime candidate’ to select Jeanty if he falls to the 12th overall pick.
“The Cowboys must address the offensive line in this draft, and they would also be a prime candidate to pick Jeanty if he slides to No. 12 — even after agreeing to a deal with Javonte Williams,” Yates wrote.
It is easy to agree with Yates’ logic here. However, that does not mean that Jeanty is destined to become a Cowboy.
There is plenty of pre-draft process still to come, but Jeanty already feels like a locked in top-10 pick. The Bears would make sense for Jeanty at 10th overall, as would the Raiders at 6th overall.
It will be fascinating to see what actually happens on the first night of the 2025 NFL Draft in just over one month.
The post Cowboys rumors: Mel Kiper urges Dallas to draft star RB, but it’s not Ashton Jeanty appeared first on ClutchPoints.
