Urban Meyer Looking to Add 'Immediate Value' With Jaguars' Top Draft Picks: Which Positions Make Sense?
When you finish 1-15, there are few areas of the roster that don't need major upheaval and substantial upgrades. So despite all the enthusiasm Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer has about his new squad, even he knows the Jaguars are far from where he needs them to from a roster perspective.
As a result, the Jaguars can't afford to walk into next week's NFL Draft and be content with not adding instant impact players. Some teams have rosters equipped enough in the short-term to allow for long-term drafting but the Jaguars are in the rare spot where they have to balance both team building for the future and finding players ready to make an impact in 2021.
"Absolutely. I see that we not only have to make those picks, [but] we have to add immediate value to our team," Meyer said on Wednesday when asked about using each of the team's top-65 picks.
"That’s the way Trent, myself and our coaching staff look at it. That’s how important these picks are, so we’re looking at these picks to make instant impact, especially those first four picks.”
We know the Jaguars will be looking for an instant impact from the No. 1 overall pick, which will presumedly be used on Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But the Jaguars will also be looking to use picks No. 25, No. 33, No. 45, and No. 65 to clear up holes throughout the roster.
But which positions after quarterback need help the most from day one? We take a look at the positions we believe a rookie will be able to add the most immediate value in below.
Tight end
Outside of quarterback, no position on the Jaguars' roster is as equipped to let a rookie step into a stop spot on the depth chart as tight end. The Jaguars have four tight ends currently on the roster, but none project as a starting-level player at the position -- at least not as a pass-catcher.
The Jaguars signed former Carolina Panthers tight end Chris Manhertz in March, adding one of the league's best blocking tight ends to the roster as its pre-draft No. 1 tight end. With this in mind, Manhertz has just 12 catches in 70 career games, six of which came last season when he recorded 52 yards.
Jacksonville's current top pass-catching tight end is seventh-year veteran James O'Shaughnessy. O'Shaughnessy has spent the last four seasons with the Jaguars but has never produced at a high volume outside of a four-game stretch in 2019 before he sustained a season-ending ACL injury. O'Shaughnessy played in 15 games last year, catching 28 passes for 262 yards.
All in all, the Jaguars' tight end position is begging for an impact pass-catcher to be added to its ranks. Manhertz has a limited floor and ceiling in the passing game other than as a blocker, while O'Shaughnessy is best relied on as a depth piece as opposed to a starting pass-catcher. A rookie could come in and lead the position in targets from day one.
Safety
Yes, the Jaguars signed Rayshawn Jenkins and re-signed Josh Jones, but they could still use help at safety. They are transitioning to a new scheme under Joe Cullen that will likely place a much higher emphasis on versatilty at the position and call for more depth at both free and strong safety.
Daniel Thomas was impressive as a rookie last season and fits the new scheme in theory, but he was a mid-round pick for a regime that is no longer in charge. Andrew Wingard was a favorite of the last regime after making the roster as an undrafted free agent in 2019 but his fit in the new scheme is curious at best.
Jarrod Wilson gives the Jaguars an experienced leader in the backend, but he is entering a contract year and it remains to be seen how much of a factor he will be in the new-look defense. As a result, the Jaguars could justify drafting a safety early next week because that safety could immediately compete for snaps with Wilson and Jones alongside Jenkins. Jenkins should be the only player whose name is locked in as a starter, in short.
Interior defensive line
If Tyson Alualu had stuck to his agreed upon deal with the Jaguars, there wouldn't be as much of a need here. But the veteran defensive lineman re-signed with Pittsburgh instead of returning to Jacksonville, creating room for the Jaguars to add another versatile defensive lineman to their new front. As things stand today, the Jaguars could use a difference-maker along the defensive line, even with the new faces.
The Jaguars were busy along the defensive line in free agency -- they signed Roy Robertson-Harris, traded for Malcom Brown, and re-signed Dawuane Smoot and Adam Gotsis. But the Jaguars are also fresh off a year in which just seven defensive linemen recorded at least 0.5 sacks. All in all, the Jaguars' entire defensive line created 12.5 sacks in 16 games, an abysmal figure. Only two players had more than one sack and only one player had more than 2.5 sacks.
The Jaguars can justify a high selection along the defensive line because despite the new faces, even more work is needed. That is how dire the state of the defensive line room was entering the season and the Jaguars will now be chasing that need for the foreseeable future. A defensive lineman at pick No. 25 would make a lot of sense if it was a stronger class; Alabama's Christian Barmore is the only member of this year's group who would merit a pick in this range.
Edge defender
Yes, the Jaguars have two talented former first-round picks at edge defender in Josh Allen and K'Lavon Chaisson. Allen is arguably the Jaguars' second best player on defense after Myles Jack, and many would have called him the best player overall on the unit enter the 2020 season. Despite this, more is needed at the position.
For an example, just look at these snap counts for edge defenders in Baltimore last season per Pro Football Reference:
- Matt Judon: 565 (52.9%)
- Tyus Bowser: 541 (50.66%)
- Pernell McPhee: 459 (42.98%)
- Yannick Ngakoue: 348 (32.58%)
- Jaylon Ferguson: 302 (28.28%)
- Jihad Ward: 272 (25.47%).
That is a deep rotation of defenders and is a far, far cry from the strategy the Jaguars used at edge defender in the past. The Jaguars built their roster with few bodies at defensive end in recent years and it carries over to the 2021 roster. For comparison, here are the snap counts for edge defenders last season.
- Dawuane Smoot: 665 (59.32%)
- Adam Gotsis: 579 (51.65%)
- K'Lavon Chaisson: 568 (50.67%)
- Josh Allen: 397 (35.41%)
- Aaron Lynch: 152 (13.56%)
- Cassius Marsh: 107 (9.55%)
That is a much shallower rotation and overall weaker depth chart. The edge position is important in the new defensive scheme because it is asked to rush, cover, and blitz from different alignments. And since Gotsis projects as interior defenders instead of edge defenders, it is clear the Jaguars' weaker depth chart at the position is calling for another addition at some point.
