How the Rams' Wild Card Victory Impacts Jaguars' First-Round Pick
The NFL's Wild Card round is now halfway over, with Saturday's slate featuring three winners and three losers.
Among those winners are one team that will continue to impact the Jacksonville Jaguars until their playoff run is over: the Los Angeles Rams.
Due to the Jalen Ramsey trade from 2019, the Jaguars own the Rams' first-round selection this year (as well as their 2021 fourth-rounder). The Jaguars also netted the Rams' first-round pick last year, which they used to select LSU defensive end K'Lavon Chaisson at No. 20 overall.
Jacksonville fans had hopes of the second first-round pick being near No. 20 overall once again, but the Rams put that to bed with a 30-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday.
Due to the win, the Rams will now pick no lower than No. 25 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft. What once looked like it had the potential to be an immensely valuable pick has slid more and more toward the value of a second-round selection.
Jacksonville also owns a fourth-round pick from the Rams via the Ramsey deal, so the Jaguars will continue to have their draft slots rearranged until the Rams are eliminated from contention.
For context on what kind of players the Jaguars could have drafted in this range last year, here are the players selected from No. 25-No. 32: WR Brandon Aiyuk, QB Jordan Love, LB Jordyn Brooks, LB Patrick Queen, OT Isaiah Wilson, CB Noah Igbinoghene, CB Jeff Gladney, and RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire.
While several of these players played a high-volume of snaps, few were truly impact players. Aiyuk probably qualifies, but Edwards-Helaire was hit or miss for much of the year, while Queen's high tackle numbers are not indicative of a solid rookie season.
Former Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell was fired on Nov. 29 after the Jaguars fell to 1-10 following a home loss to the Cleveland Browns. Caldwell served as Jacksonville's general manager since 2013, giving him nearly eight seasons in the role.
In his nearly eight years with the Jaguars, Caldwell compiled a 39-87 record as general manager (counting postseason). The Jaguars lost a double-digit amount of games in every one of these seasons but 2017.
Jacksonville finished 2020 with a 1-15 record, which means they will hold the No. 1 overall pick for the first time in franchise history. Now, the Jaguars will be looking for a new head coach and general manager to decide how to use both the top pick and the Rams' pick.
"If you look at it, I think you want to have both. Four years ago, when we did the search [for a head coach], the mindset really was with the head coaches I interviewed was we need a rebuild, we need extra time, we need this, we need that. We’d won three games, my mindset was we have talent here, what would you do, etc., etc.? The most success we’ve had came right after that," Jaguars owner Shad Khan said on Monday.
"I think we have a great group of young players. Obviously we’re going to have a lead franchise quarterback. You can’t have a mindset [of] this is a rebuild and it’s going to take time, etc. We have to have a mindset [that] we’re building for the long haul, but you have to be able to win at the same time.”
