The Jacksonville Jaguars selected first in the past two drafts and held a pick in the top 10 in 14 of the past 15 years.
The Jaguars won’t be on the clock until 24th overall after winning the division, reaching the playoffs, winning their wild-card round game in stunning come-from-behind fashion over the Los Angeles Chargers. Another AFC South title in 2023 looks extremely realistic, which could mean Jacksonville is ready to address a small handful of need areas rather than accumulate the best raw talent available.
“The basic way it’s different is we have 23 people that pick before us,” general manager Trent Baalke said. “You know, the last couple years, we’ve had zero, so it’s our job to get the board stacked, to work hard with the coaching staff, to get as much information about these guys as we can and make sure we’re bringing guys into this culture that fit what we’re trying to build here and what we are building here.”
This team was far from perfect last year. Trevor Lawrence took great steps forward with Doug Pederson as his coach rather than Urban Meyer, but the offense lost 13 fumbles (second-worst in the league) and the defense ranked in the bottom 10 in yards per game.
TEAM NEEDS
1. CB: The Jaguars must improve in coverage after allowing the fifth-most passing yards per game and fourth-most first downs by passing. They moved on from ex-starter Shaquill Griffin, to boot.
2. DL: Adding a reliable pass rusher on the interior D-line, in particular, would help Travon Walker and Josh Allen produce pressure on the edge.
3. TE: The Jaguars franchise tagged Evan Engram, who may or may not be the team’s long-term answer at the position. There’s very little talent behind him on the depth chart.
2023 DRAFT PICKS
Round Pick (Overall)
1. 24 (24)
2. 25 (56)
3. 25 (88)
4. 19 (121)
4. 25 (127)
6. 8 (185)
6. 25 (202)
6. 31 (208)
7. 9 (226)
BEST FITS
1. CB Deonte Banks, Maryland: Sweet feet, blazing speed and enough size to hold up on every down or slide inside in a big nickel set.
2. DT Gervon Dexter, Florida: Relatively new to the game, Dexter’s athletic ability inside is a missing ingredient for the Jaguars.
3. WR Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss: Overlooked in a crowded WR class, Mingo doesn’t easily separate but the same knock kept D.K. Metcalf (64th overall) on the board late in 2019. Emerging talent was also a team captain in 2022.
