The Jacksonville Jaguars came into April with 10 draft picks and ended up making nine selections. With so much compensation, the hope is that the Jags made the right choices with a majority of those picks, which would make their turnaround under Urban Meyer and his staff faster.
Of course, a key will be for the Jags’ 2021 first-round selections in Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne to be the stars they were at Clemson, but players from the class drafted outside of Round 1 will need to meet expectations, too. That said, with training camp coming up, fans will get to learn more about the players selected in Rounds 2-7 and the roles they could have in 2021.
Of the Jags’ Round 2 selections, it certainly looks like cornerback Tyson Campbell has the opportunity to be more productive than offensive tackle Walker Little in 2021. The reason for that is because the Jags appear to be set to let Cam Robinson start on the blindside after franchise tagging him for $13.7 million. Meanwhile, Campbell could be in a similar situation but could see the field as a nickel cornerback, which would put him on the field a lot in Year 1.
When looking at the third-round, the Jags selected safety Andre Cisco. His chances to start feel higher than any pick outside of Round 1. While he practiced on the side this spring, Cisco said he believes he’ll be ready for training camp when he was drafted. If he is, he’ll be able to compete with Jarrod Wilson for a starting safety spot alongside Rayshawn Jenkins.
When looking at Cisco’s ability, his ball skills were solid at Syracuse as he exited the collegiate ranks with 13 picks. For him to remotely have that type of success in the NFL the Jags’ pass-rush will need to drastically improve, but even if the defense struggles, three to four picks doesn’t feel out of the realm of possibilities. In terms of tackles, if he’s named the starter he should have no problem registering more than 40 tackles, which was nearly the totals that rookie defensive backs Chris Claybrooks (39) and C.J. Henderson (36) had last season.
As for the Jags’ fourth-round picks in defensive tackle Jay Tufele and edge rusher Jordan Smith, it’s likely that both will be rotational players for the defense. Though injuries could force either into the starting lineup at some point, both may be in line for a stat line like K’Lavon Chaisson had last season as a rookie where he registered 19 tackles and a sack.
Lastly, the Jags drafted two pass catchers with their last two selections in tight end Luke Farrell and Jalen Camp. Both feel like practice squad candidates, but Farrell has a better chance of making the final roster. However, with him being more of a blocker, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him register less than 10 catches.
Clearly, of the players selected outside of Round 1, it appears the two defensive backs will be the most productive and that Cisco may be the player leading the way. Do you all at home agree, though? Feel free to let us know in the poll.
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