As we await the beginning of the 2020 NFL season, many mock drafts for next year’s draft has surfaced on the web with the Jacksonville Jaguars making some interesting selections. As they did last year, they will once again have two first-round picks thanks to the Los Angeles Rams and could make significant progress on becoming a contender again next offseason.
Most 2021 mocks have slotted the Jags to the No. 1 overall pick (using win projections by Vegas) with Trevor Lawrence as their selection, and the most recent by 247 Sports is no different. Simply put, they deemed Lawrence as a prospect that can do anything, which would be great for the Jags who have a rough history with quarterbacks.
After a terrible season and/or awesome tank job, the Jags score their biggest win of the year: the No. 1 overall draft pick, with which they’ll select the Clemson star. Will he be worth it? As the 247Sports early 2021 NFL Draft board says, “There’s nothing Lawrence can’t do at quarterback.”
We’ve been on record for saying that we don’t believe the Jags are “first overall pick bad” with rosters that appear better than teams like the Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, and Cincinnati Bengals to name a few. One reason they could end up better than those teams may be due to Gardner Minshew II taking another step after showing promise in 2019, though nothing is guaranteed.
As for landing the No. 1 overall pick, it’s hard to envision them in the three-win area, but if they are, it’s certainly not a loss in the case of landing Lawrence, who many pundits have praised highly.
The Jags ended up making their second selection (from the Rams) at the No. 16 spot. There, they bolstered the interior of their offensive line with guard Rashawn Slater from Northwestern.
With Trevor Lawrence in their arsenal, the Jags further bolster the NFL’s second-worst offense in 2019 — and protect their new QB — with the towering Northwestern guard, Rashawn Slater. Per CBS Sports, the 6-foot-4 Slater has now filled out to 305 pounds.
This is a pick many fans can get on board with because the offensive line has long been a concern. Many haven’t been happy with what they’ve gotten out of Andrew Norwell, who was once the highest-paid guard in football. Slater could then join the Jags’ fourth-round pick Ben Bartch, who should be ready to take over for right guard A.J. Cann in 2021.
With the Jags selecting mostly defensive players in 2020, they very well could be in position to bolster the offense in 2021’s draft. If the Jags register approximately three wins, selecting two prospects like Lawrence and Slater would make a ton of sense because a low win total would almost certainly fall on Minshew and the o-line coming up short.