Fifth-Round Draft Pick Luke Farrell Signs Rookie Contract
The Jacksonville Jaguars have officially signed tight end Luke Farrell to a contract, the team announced Thursday.
Farrell was the Jags' fifth round pick (No. 145 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft. He is the third member of the Jaguars rookie class to ink his rookie deal.
Farrell was a tight end at Ohio State and played under current Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer. A sense of familiarity led to Meyer and staff selecting Farrell on the final day of the draft.
“He’s from my hometown. He’s from right outside my hometown. His people are my people, they’re all just wonderful people in that area — Perry, Ohio. I love Luke, I love his family," Meyer said of the tight end after the draft.
"He’s a plus-two mentality all the way. He’s a worker, a grinder, and to see him where he’s at from where he came, he’s brilliant by the way and he’s tough. He’s not the pass-catching tight end but one way to also help a young quarterback — and if you’ve ever looked at our young quarterbacks when they would play — the number one way to help a young quarterback is to have a successful run game.
"Not be a one dimensional and let the defensive ends in the NFL taking swings at you every down. That’s why we took Chris Manhertz and Luke Farrell to be creative in some of the run-game formations. That’s why we have Carlos Hyde and James Robinson.”
Farrell, who is the ninth tight end to be drafted in Jaguars' history, played in 44 games at Ohio State, making 32 starts, and registered 34 receptions for 380 yards and four TDs with the Buckeyes, including a career-best 20 receptions for 205 yards in 2018.
He joins a unit that was maligned by the offseason and desperate for depth. He'll compete for a spot alongside veterans James O'Shaughnessyand Chris Manhertz, second year players Tyler Davis and Ben Ellefson and newly signed free agent, Tim Tebow.
"I definitely think I’m one of the best, if not the best, block tight ends coming out of this class," Farrell admitted to local media following the draft. "But I think one of my biggest strengths is my versatility and my toughness. I think whatever they’re going to ask me to do, I can do at a high level—and we were asked to do a lot as tight ends at Ohio State and I know I can continue to do that. And then, I think I play the game with a lot of toughness, in every aspect.”
However, General Manager Trent Baalke sees a much more versatile future for the Jaguars rookie.
"I think if you talk to Ohio State staff, they’ll tell you [he was] underutilized. If you look at their tight end core as a whole last year, they have a young man that’s on that team right now that’s going to be one of the top tight ends in the country. His production, when you look at the stats, isn’t great.
"But we had a lot of collaboration obviously with Ohio State and their staff and how he was used, and you went to his pro day and you saw things in him on pro day that made you believe there’s some upside as a receiver and he’s not limited to just being a blocking tight end.”
Jalen Camp and Jordan Smith have also officially inked their contracts. The rookie class still has six players to be signed including No. 1 overall pick, quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
