We’ve almost reached the month of April, which means the draft will be here before fans know it. The Jacksonville Jaguars’ staff has been working hard to start what looks like a two-year rebuild, and with 12 picks in the upcoming draft, the Jags could build a strong nucleus in 2020.
Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling recently conducted a four-round mock draft with the free agency period moving towards the two-week mark. Here’s a look at the selections the Jags were slotted:
No. 9 | Derrick Brown | DT | Auburn
I’m sure Jags fans are sick of their team spending first-round picks on defensive linemen, but considering they can’t seem to retain their best veterans, they have to keep reloading. Yannick Ngakoue seems to be headed elsewhere, so it’s a good thing they took Josh Allen last year. Marcell Dareus won’t be back to help a dismal rush defense, so that’s where Brown comes in. A rare athlete for his size, Brown is a dominant force who can wreck opposing offenses all by himself.
To answer Easterling’s question, most Jags fans aren’t tired of getting elite defensive players, especially after looking at what the projected defensive lineup would look like as of today. Brown is a player who could start immediately for the Jags at defensive tackle and could be paired with a mix of Taven Bryan, Abry Jones, and Al Woods and would be a tremendous help to their poor rush defense. While that’s not as strong as their defensive tackle rotation from the past, it’s better than at least half of the rest of the league.
Next, Easterling slotted the Jags Louisiana State cornerback Kristian Fulton, who would address arguably the team’s biggest need.
No. 20 | Kristian Fulton | CB | LSU
In just a couple of years, the Jags have gone from having one of the league’s most promising corner tandems to trading away both Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye. With two first-round picks in this year’s draft, they absolutely have to use one of them to find a starting-caliber corner. Fulton has the height, length and cover skills to shoulder that responsibility from Day 1, and he’s been tested by some of the most talented pass-catchers in the country.
At 6-foot-0, 197-pounds, Fulton has the size the Jags want on the boundary. They will also like the fact that he’s coming from the Southeastern Conference, home of some elite college receivers.
Like Brown, Fulton would be a Day 1 starter and could be paired with Tre Herndon as the Jags’ No. 1 and No. 2 cornerbacks. With D.J. Hayden handling the nickelback position, the Jags would have a respectable trio heading into 2020 to face divisional quarterbacks Deshaun Watson, Philip Rivers, and Ryan Tannehill.
After round one, Easterling slotted the Jags Colorado State’s Laviska Shenault, Washington’s Hunter Bryant, LSU’s Saahdiq Charles, and Lavert Hill and Khaleke Hudson of Michigan in the second through fourth rounds.
No. 42 | Laviska Shenault | WR | Colorado State
No. 73 | Hunter Bryant | TE | Washington
No. 116 | Saahdiq Charles | OT | LSU
No. 140 (from CHI) | Lavert Hill | CB | Michigan
No. 137 (from SF then Denver) | Khaleke Hudson | S | Michigan
The selection of Shenault makes a ton of sense for the Jags as it would give Garnder Minshew II one of the most powerful receivers in the 2020 draft. Additionally, he can line up all over the field as he’s been used on the perimeter, in the backfield, and as a tight end while at Colorado State.
Before the recent signing of Tyler Eifert, tight end was arguably the Jags No. 2 need. However, his addition could lead to the Jags addressing tight end late in the draft. Easterling slotting the Jags Bryant with the No. 73 overall pick is a wise choice, though, as Eifert’s health hasn’t been the best since entering the league. Of 112 games, Eifert has missed 53 games, which is nearly half of his career appearances.
As for the fourth-round, I think the Jags need to acquire an offensive tackle or guard before that point. Additionally, Charles may not be quite as tall as the Jags would like out of a tackle at 6-foot-4, however, he could be an option at guard to maybe replace A.J. Cann.
Lastly, when looking at the additions of Hudson and Hill, they make a ton of sense because the Jags’ secondary looks like it could be a weak link for the team. Hudson is probably a player who will need some development before becoming a starter, but at 5-foot-11, 220-pounds, he has great size to hold up in the NFL. While at Michigan, he impressed as far as special teams go and that would probably result in him being predominantly used on the Jags’ punt and kickoff teams out of the gate.
Hill, on the other hand, would give the Jags a scrappy cornerback who could provide depth. At 5-foot-10, 190-pounds, the knock on him has been his size, but with Fulton and Herndon holding down the starting roles, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal because he’d predominantly play special teams like Hudson.