A day after he was drafted, Ashton Jeanty is favorite to win big NFL award
It has not even been 24 hours since Ashton Jeanty officially became an NFL player, and he’s already being touted as the favorite for a major award.
Jeanty was drafted sixth overall by the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday night, and alongside Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward, drafted first overall out of Miami, he’s the odds-on favorite to win the 2025 offensive rookie of the year award.
Caesars Sportsbook (+300), DraftKings (+200) and ESPN BET (+350) all have the two players tied as the betting favorites to receive the honor. Other sportsbooks, such as BetRivers, have Jeanty as a stronger favorite and give him a 28.6% chance to win the award — with Ward the next closest at 20%.
Jeanty would be the first running back to win offensive rookie of the year since Saquon Barkley did it in 2018 with the New York Giants. Jeanty’s selection Thursday night in Green Bay made him the highest-drafted running back since Barkley was taken second overall.
Ahead of the draft, ESPN analyst Louis Riddick predicted that Jeanty could challenge the NFL rookie rushing record, which is held by NFL Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who ran for 1,808 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1983.
“He gets to a place that has a top-10 offensive line in terms of run-block win rate. ... I think this kid will challenge,” Riddick said. “If you give him the touches, which he is more than capable of handling, he will challenge Eric Dickerson‘s rookie rushing record. He’ll challenge 1,700, 1,800 yards. He has that kind of build and that kind of stamina to do it.”
The Raiders’ offensive line certainly isn’t among those top 10 teams, though. But they also didn’t have the running backs in 2024 to enjoy success on the ground.
The O-line looked a little better in the final month of the season, which saw the 4-13 Raiders win two of their final three games. With Jeanty added to the mix, as well as quarterback Geno Smith, the potential might be there for a historic rookie season.
Following Jeanty and Ward, the next betting favorite for the award is Travis Hunter (+700), the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner and new Jacksonville Jaguar. Hunter, who edged Jeanty for the Heisman, is also among the top five for the 2025 NFL defensive rookie of the year award, but his odds are slimmer on that side of the ball.
Rounding out the list among most sportsbooks for offensive rookie of the year are wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (Carolina Panthers), running back Omarion Hampton (LA Chargers) and wide receiver Matthew Golden (Green Bay Packers).
This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 1:10 PM.
