Jaguars Again Add Top Tier Offensive Talent in Mock Draft

The Jacksonville Jaguars have emphasized offense in their offseason moves. One mock draft has the Jaguars adding a top talent on the offensive side of the ball in the first round of the NFL Draft for the second consecutive season.

Dec 31, 2024; Glendale, AZ, USA; Boise State Broncos running back Ashton Jeanty (2) against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars had few things worth celebrating this past season, as an injury-filled 4-13 campaign ended the tenures of Trent Baalke and Doug Pederson. The Jaguars have not had much success over the past few seasons, but look to change that moving forward.

Jacksonville has a new general manager and essentially has a new coaching staff. This has given the Jaguars renewed hope that they can begin to turn things around sooner rather than later. Still, Jacksonville has plenty of work to do this offseason to improve.

Last season, the Jaguars' ground game started well, as Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby formed arguably the best running back duo in the league. Etienne and Bigsby led a Jaguars ground game that ranked in the top 10 in the league in total rushing yards until Etienne's injury.

Although Bigsby performed well in Etienne's absence, the duo failed to return to form after Etienne returned. Various reasons outside of Etienne and Bigsby's control led to the team's struggles on the ground, but they must fix this issue one way or another.

Gennaro Filice from NFL.com released a mock draft with first-round projections for every team in the National Football League. Filice believes Mason Graham will be off the board, and the Jaguars will be forced to select the best player available, which most agree would be Ashton Jeanty.

"Seemingly everyone -- including our resident prospect rankers in these parts, Daniel Jeremiah, Eric Edholm, and Lance Zierlein-- has Jeanty as a top-five player in this class. So, what’s stopping him from being selected in the top five picks of this draft? Travis Etienne Jr.'s efficiency declined in 2023, and his production fell off a cliff in ’24," Filice said.

"Tank Bigsby emerged as a rusher in Year 2, but he still seems ideally suited as a bruising RB2. Feels like a nice place to insert Jeanty, who just so happens to be a Jacksonville native. Trevor Lawrence has been supported by a top-20 ground game once, and in that 2022 season, he earned his lone Pro Bowl nod while the Jaguars took the AFC South and made noise in the playoffs. Seems relevant."

After adding Brian Thomas Jr. to their roster last offseason, Lawrence could have another offensive weapon and an offensive-minded head coach in Liam Coen, which could do wonders for each player's career.

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