Jacksonville Jaguars fans often wonder where the team would be had they hit on a franchise quarterback early in Dave Caldwell”s tenure, which is exactly why the team went with a quarterback in the first round of ESPN’s re-draft. Under the direction of Jags ESPN beat writer Mike DiRocco, the team took Dallas Cowboy’s quarterback Dak Prescott in the first round.
In this particular draft done by ESPN Nation as a whole, there wasn’t a particular draft class that was being looked at as every player currently in the NFL was available. Also, the rules allowed each general manager to pick a quarterback, a non-QB offensive player, and a defensive player. Their fourth pick was allowed to be a wildcard pick, which meant any player of choice was eligible at that point.
When explaining his first selection, DiRocco liked Prescott’s mix of age and production over his first four seasons.
I wanted players who are 27 or younger. Taking Prescott at No. 9 might raise some eyebrows, but he has averaged 3,944 yards and 24 TD passes in his first four seasons and is coming off his best season.
Admittedly, I was one of the people raising their eyebrows with this pick, however, Prescott’s production and consistency would be better than what the Jags have had at quarterback for the past decade. When comparing him to Blake Bortles especially, Prescott would be a significant upgrade, with a 65.8% career completion rate to Bortles’ career completion rate of 59.3%. Most importantly, Prescott has proven to be better with taking care of the ball with 36 career picks to Bortles’ figure of 75.
In the next three rounds, DiRocco added some more underrated star power, selecting defensive end Danielle Hunter, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, and cornerback Marshon Lattimore, respectively.
Smith-Schuster is only 23 and will be a top-five receiver as long as he’s not catching passes from Devlin Hodges.
On defense, it’s all about elite pass-rushers and corners, and only Aaron Donald and Chandler Jones had more sacks than Danielle Hunter (29) over the past two seasons. Lattimore was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2017 and has made two Pro Bowls in three seasons. Good young players form a fantastic nucleus in the quest to win a Super Bowl within five years.
While they aren’t super popular names (aside from Smith-Schuster), fans certainly shouldn’t complain about the young nucleus DiRocco was able to snag.
Danielle Hunter would actually give the Jags a better sack producer than Yannick Ngakoue as he’s accumulated 54.5 sacks in five seasons. While Hunter (six) isn’t nearly as good at causing turnovers (Ngakoue has 14), getting a player of his caliber in round two is definitely a plus.
Smith-Schuster is no slouch either as he’s garnered nearly 3,000 receiving yards over the span of three years and has been to a Pro Bowl. With a consistent quarterback like Prescott by his side, there wouldn’t be a reason to think both could have one of the top connections in football.
Lastly, Lattimore would be a steal in the fourth round. While Jags fans will immediately point to Jalen Ramsey as the best corner to play for the team in recent times, Lattimore is on a similar path to the Florida State product as he was named the Associated Press’ NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2017 and is a two time Pro Bowler. While making the annual all-star game doesn’t necessarily mean much sometimes, Lattimore is a player that has earned his nominations by routinely locking elite receivers.