Way-Too-Early 2023 Mock Draft: Jaguars Add Offensive Playmaker
The 2022 NFL Draft has come to a close. Over 250 selections were made as all 32 franchises went on to change their presents and their futures and hundreds of athletes had their dreams realized.
But as we bask in the 2022 draft and what transpired over the last few days, it is never too early to take a look ahead ... even if it does feel like it is way-too-early considering Travon Walker, Devin Lloyd and the Jacksonville Jaguars' other five draft picks have yet to take the field.
Looking at mock drafts a year ahead is always a bold exercise. Last year, it was impossible not to find the likes of Spencer Rattler and Sam Howell at the top of mock drafts. Walker, the eventual No. 1 pick, likely wasn't found in any, while Rattler was benched before transferring and Howell became the No. 144 overall pick this past weekend.
But they do give us a solid baseline to look at the year ahead. For example, this mock draft from Bleacher Report from last offseason had 15 of its first-round selections become first-round picks last week. That is below 50%, but then you consider names like Andrew Booth and Breece Hall who were still high picks and it isn't the worst early barometer.
And while the 2022 season hasn't taken place, every team still has needs. Needs will never go away for a franchise, no matter how set the roster is.
"My experience is to build rooms as strong as you can and get as much competition as you can possibly get because it makes that room that much better," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said after Day 2 of the draft.
"If we can address needs along the way and you always have needs, you never go into any part of the process and say we don’t have any needs. There are always needs to address, but we’re going to take the best player available and when a need crosses over that then we will connect the dots. Otherwise, we’re going to take the best player."
With this in mind, we used Pro Football Network's mock draft simulator to go through the 2023 first round, even with us being 12 months away. So, who do we slot to the Jaguars in this way-too-early mock?
No. 5 overall: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
Yes, a wide receiver. Expect to see this as the common chalk pick for the Jaguars in mock drafts throughout the early portions of the regular season, with Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the most frequent player slotted to them. It is hard to argue against it, especially after a draft where the Jaguars added seven players but no receivers and ultimately only one skill player in fifth-round running back Snoop Conner.
“We like this team and we like the group that’s there obviously, but as I’ve always said, you never not stop looking, never stop looking to improve each room and try to make it as competitive as you can," Baalke said following the draft when asked about the lack of additions at receiver and tight end.
"Obviously, free agency is over and the draft is over, so now teams picked players and so are there going to be other players that come available. You’re constantly looking to create competition and improve the roster, so we’re not done.”
While the Jaguars aren't done, it is hard to envision them being able to add a true No. 1 receiver between now and next offseason unless they make some kind of surprise trade for a player like Deebo Samuel, Terry McLaurin or D.K. Metcalf.
As a result, the next logical route is to mock the Jaguars a receiver early in the 2023 NFL draft. After all, the only receiver the Jaguars have drafted in the last two years was sixth-round Georgia Tech receiver Jalen Camp, who didn't make the team and spent his rookie year with the Houston Texans.
But why Smith-Njigba specifically? In this scenario, the first four picks were Will Anderson to Houston, Jalen Carter to Atlanta, C.J. Stroud to Detroit, and Peter Skoronski to the Jets. As a result, the Jaguars had their pick of receivers and ultimately went with Smith-Njigba, who shared the field with two top-15 picks last year in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
Despite being on the field with two of the best receivers in the nation, Smith-Njigba's numbers never suffered. The former five-star recruit had a massive year in 2021, catching 95 passes for 1,606 yards (16.9 yards per catch) and nine touchdowns, leading Ohio State in receptions and receiving yards.
To be that productive as a sophomore while sharing the field with two first-rounders is, frankly, special. It is rare production at a such a young age that it can't be discounted. Yes, there will be other receiver prospects at the top of next year's draft, but few have the numbers under their belt that Smith-Njigba has and that is why the smooth and explosive wideout is seen as a candidate to be a top-10 pick next season.
