The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t have many glaring needs entering the 2023 NFL draft, as 21 of the team’s 22 starters from last season are set to return.
But after the Jaguars offense — which finished the 2022 season 10th in total yards — led the way for the team en route to the AFC South crown, it seemed the defense — which was 24th in yards allowed — would be the higher priority.
At the top of the list of needs to be addressed seemed to be the cornerback position and pass rush. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson called improving the latter “vital.”
In the first three rounds of the draft, those defensive concerns were ignored. Instead the team drafted offensive tackle Anton Harrison, tight end Brenton Strange, and running back Tank Bigsby in rounds one, two, and three, respectively.
“You’re not just saying, ‘We’re going to focus on one side of the football,'” Pederson explained Friday night after the third round ended. “A lot of times you want to make decisions that are best for the football team. Doesn’t matter if it’s offense, defense or special teams.
“It’s just kind of the way the board fell to us the last two days. We’ve got several picks left to address many, many other areas. Really I think just to be able to add depth, good football players that are still there, to bring that competition that we look for, that I look for, that’s what makes us better.”
Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke, who continued his streak of picking exactly one running back in every draft he’s ever run, offered a similar explanation of the team’s decision not to pick a defensive player.
“The board fell the way it fell,” Baalke said. “When you’re picking where we’re picking, there’s a lot of good players that are going to go off the board. You try to make some trades at times to do some things. It takes two to tango. Sometimes you can make a move, sometimes you can’t. At the end of the day we stayed true to the board.”
Last year, the Jaguars picks defensive players with three of their four selections in the first two days of the 2022 NFL draft.
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