The 2025 draft class? Let’s just say it’s got more question marks than a Jeopardy! Scouts are calling it the “meh”-diocre draft—a lukewarm buffet where teams are eyeing the dessert table (read: running backs) because the main course (QB/WR stars) feels undercooked. But here’s the kicker: the spotlight isn’t on a cannon-armed quarterback or a Randy Moss-esque receiver. It’s on a 5’8″, 211-pound dynamo: Ashton Jeanty.

“The Little Guy and the Lost Class”: The NFL Draft usually arrives with at least a whisper of electricity. A few can’t-miss stars, a couple of polarizing quarterbacks, and plenty of front-office poker faces. But this year? It’s more of a shrug. “I think the NFL is very turned off by this crop,” said John Middlekauff on The Herd. “Typically, you feel really good about 10 to 15 guys in a draft. And listen, I like Ashton Jeanty. People think I’m being critical—when a 5’8″ running back from Boise State is considered the third-best talent in your draft, you’ve got problems.” Okay, but what’s his argument for that?

From pocket passers to playmakers: The quarterback revolution

That line sums it up. Jeanty’s size, his conference, and his sudden leap up draft boards isn’t really about him—it’s about the rest of this class. “If you’re going to take him in the top 10, he better be Barry Sanders,” Middlekauff warned. “Because the last few guys who went high—McCaffrey, Saquon, Bijan—they weren’t 5’8″ kids from Boise.”

Even though Jeanty had a phenomenal season, the first-round buzz around him feels like a cry for help. “I do think the hype speaks to two things,” Middlekauff added. “One, teams just don’t think the other prospects are good. So they’re saying, ‘We might as well take this little guy who’s at least good.’” Picture this: It’s 2025, and NFL front offices are scrolling through prospects like a bored teen on TikTok. The consensus?

This class has all the sizzle of a deflated whoopee cushion. NBC Boston called it ‘underwhelming,’ and ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. might’ve low-key dozed off during film sessions. The QB room? Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders headline a group that’s more “wait-and-see” than “slam-dunk.” Wideouts? Luther Burden III and Tetairoa McMillan are solid, but scouts whisper they’ve got the deep speed of a Prius. Defensive linemen? Serviceable, but no Myles Garretts here.

Historically? A 5’8″ running back going in the first round is almost unheard of. A Decade-Old Crisis Now Paying Dividends Colin Cowherd floated a theory, and it’s one worth pausing over: “About 10 years ago, during the CTE stories, the NFL had a real concern—it had a mom problem. That’s when they started targeting women, building safer optics, changing rules, writing that almost billion-dollar settlement check.”

What followed was a subtle cultural shift—less tackle football for 11- and 12-year-olds. “Those kids are now 21, 22… right in this draft class,” Cowherd noted. “And a lot of moms back then said, ‘Nope. My son’s not playing football.’” The result? A top-heavy, uninspiring draft filled with trench guys and few offensive weapons worth drooling over.

“We’re not going to have bad drafts constantly, but this may become like the NBA. Every third or fourth draft you look up and go, ‘Yeah, there’s maybe seven or eight guys…,’” Cowherd speculated. And Middlekauff’s prediction?

He added, “I do think there are still a lot of offensive and defensive linemen who will go in the first round. Those body types don’t drift into other sports. But skill guys? That’s another story.”  The conversation turned to quarterbacks—and how the position has transformed. Tom Brady once said, “I could only play one position in high school football. I couldn’t play any other position—even in the prime of my career.” That archetype? The 6’5” statue with a cannon arm? Extinct.

Carson Palmer. Philip Rivers. Eli Manning. Roethlisberger. Goff. Stafford. “They couldn’t outrun anyone—not even the linemen,” Middlekauff noted. “Those guys don’t exist in the draft anymore.” Now, it’s all movement. It’s all escapability. Even Baker Mayfield, post-slimdown, is a more mobile QB. “You look at college now—every quarterback can move. Even Drew Allar, who’s considered on the low end athletically, can move a little,” he added.

That matters because mobility buys creativity, and coaches love creativity. “Those mobile guys give coaches 25% more playbook,” said Middlekauff. “It’s an absolute advantage.” And his thoughts on Jaden Daniels as a prototype for the future?

“If you asked every coach in the league right now, ‘Pick one quarterback for the next 10 years.’ I think most of them would take Jaden Daniels. He moves exceptionally well, is bizarrely poised and accurate, and just has this innate feel. He’s intuitive. You can’t teach that,” Cowherd said.

Middlekauff agreed, indeed, comparing it to Lamar Jackson’s development arc: “Lamar was a mobile guy who became a deadly pocket passer. Jaden Daniels came into the league already doing both.”

In a class thin on flash and loaded with mobility-first quarterbacks, Daniels has the ‘it’ factor. “He’s awesome in high-leverage moments—overtime, last drives. He just gets it,” Cowherd said. So, the quarterbacks have changed their gameplay. But what about Ashton Jeanty?

From produce to playbooks: Jeanty’s college football paradise

Ashton Jeanty isn’t just a prospect—he’s a paradox. A 5’8″ human pinball who outrushed 115 FBS teams in 2024 (2,601 yards, 29 TDs), he’s equal parts underdog and unicorn. Critics harp on his Combine no-show (“Was he scared?” trolls chirped), but Jeanty’s response was pure Rocky montage: “Every defense knew I was coming… and still couldn’t stop me.” Cue the clip of him striking the Heisman pose after torching San Jose State—a mic drop moment that had Boise screaming, “That’s our guy!”

The draft remains a reflection of college football—and college football reflects culture, indeed. And as Cowherd recalled, “Bill Parcells used to say: ‘The grocery store is college football.’ That’s where you pick your ingredients. And college is giving you mobile QBs.” He isn’t wrong.

Look no further than the national title game. Pocket passers? A dying breed. “Both those guys were sprinting around,” Middlekauff said. “Will Howard had one of the biggest runs of the game. He’s athletic and throwing well now.” From the top guys in the league—Mahomes, Hurts, Herbert, Lamar, Josh Allen—all of them can move. Even Brock Purdy is slippery in space. Only Goff and Stafford remain as true pocket purists, and Stafford had more mobility than most remember in his early years.

“This was always the guy at the top of the draft: the 6’5” quarterback from School X who couldn’t run,” Middlekauff said. “He’s just not playing football anymore.” So Where Did He Go? Simple. “He’s pitching in baseball, playing golf, maybe basketball,” Cowherd said. “That 6’5” freak athlete still exists—he just doesn’t want to play quarterback.” And maybe that’s okay.

Undoubtedly, the NFL has evolved. It’s safer, faster, and more innovative. But this year’s draft class? It’s a reflection of choices made over a decade ago—by moms, dads, and a league in crisis. Moreover, Ashton Jeanty, the 5’8″ symbol of the new normal, may just be a symptom—not the problem.