First Days of the Draft Will Prove Valuable to Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are arguably among the top teams in the league with the most at stake in this year's NFL Draft. After making wholesale changes, the Jaguars must improve their roster, then improve their performance on the field. A productive NFL Draft would help with both.

Ben Solak of ESPN believes that while the Jaguars could draft defensive tackle Mason Graham from Michigan, they should consider using the No. 5 pick in the draft on another position, as this draft is deep at defensive tackle.

Solak believes the Jaguars should refrain from spending a top pick on a position that is rich with talent in this draft. He believes the Jaguars should consider trading down and collecting additional draft picks to help fill the many holes on their roster.

"The Jaguars' edge duo of Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker is too good for their line play to be as poor as it is. The culprit is defensive tackle, where a series of veteran moves over the past few years (Roy Robertson-Harris, Folorunso Fatukasi, Arik Armstead) all failed to have meaningful impact," Solak said.

"The most likely path to a needle-mover at defensive tackle is the No. 5 pick, where Mason Graham (Michigan) could go. I'd like that pick for the Jaguars just fine, but they should investigate trading down. The defensive tackle class is pretty strong at No. 36 as well, should they miss out on Graham."

The Jaguars have more than a few positions that could use improvement, as their roster ranks near the bottom of the league. Luckily for Jacksonville, they have plenty of picks in the draft they can use to hopefully help turn things around starting next season.

Jacksonville's defense struggled mightily most of last season. However, they especially struggled against the pass.

While the Jaguars added to their defensive backfield earlier in free agency, they would still be wise to consider adding to the position group once again, should a quality corner be available in Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft

"I like Jacksonville's cornerback room better than most --Jarrian Jones, who performed delightfully as a rookie nickel corner, should transition well to the outside as free agent acquisition Jourdan Lewis takes his natural slot spot. If a corner the Jaguars like falls to them at No. 36, that's fine too," Solak said.

"But I have my eyes on linebacker, where Devin Lloyd is approaching a contract year and Foyesade Oluokun is approaching his age-30 season. Carson Schwesinger (UCLA) would be an excellent pick at the top of Round 2 as a high-ceiling coverage linebacker to replace Lloyd in 2026 and beyond."

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