2021 NFL Draft: Analyzing Who PFF Mocks to the Jaguars Along With Lawrence

While we continue to march through the 2020 season, we will take looks at mock drafts from throughout the football industry to reflect on what outside projections for the Jacksonville Jaguars look like.

The Jaguars currently hold the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, along with the Los Angeles Rams first-round pick as a result of the Jalen Ramsey trade. As of this writing, the Jaguars have 11 picks in the upcoming draft.

Well, the dust has finally settled in Jacksonville. After 15 grueling weeks, mustaches and jorts have been traded in for blond locks and orange Clemson tees.

With just one more week left in the 2020 regular season, the Jaguars sit at 1-14 and are in the middle of the worst losing streak in franchise history. They upset the Indianapolis Colts in Week 1 and put the NFL on notice when they nearly did the same against the Tennessee Titans a week later. But flash forward three months, and the Jaguars are sitting with 14-straight losses and have their eyes set toward the future.

Week 16 secured the No. 1 overall pick for the Jaguars for the first time in franchise history, a result of the team's 41-17 loss to the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets upsetting the Cleveland Browns, their second consecutive win over a playoff contender.

Now the Jaguars are in a prime position to take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who has been billed as the next big thing at quarterback since before he even stepped foot on Clemson's field. Three years of dominance in college later and Lawrence is seen by most as a John Elway, Peyton Manning, or Andrew Luck-type prospect.

But for all of the deserved excitement around the Jaguars likely landing Lawrence, it needs to be remembered that the Jaguars do have 10 other picks. This includes another pick in the first round and two selections in the second round. In total, the Jaguars have five picks in the first three rounds.

To get an idea of what positions or which names could be options for the Jaguars in the first round, let's take a look at some of the players selected for them in recent mock drafts from national analysts and sites. For each pick, our own analysis will be included.

For the purposes of this exercise, we will be looking at two different mocks from Pro Football Focus. One is via Michael Renner while the other was authored by Austin Gayle.

Each mock has the Jaguars making the predictable, obvious, and near-certain pick of Lawrence at No. 1 overall. This much is going to be clear for the next four months, after all.

But where the intrigue starts is when the Jaguars make their second first-round pick, which will come via the Los Angeles Rams as a result of the Jalen Ramsey trade from 2019.

First, let's look at who Renner slotted to the Jaguars along with Lawrence on Dec. 23.

Click here for the full mock.

No. 25 overall: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn

This isn't the first time you have seen South Carolina's Jaycee Horn mocked to the Jaguars in this area. We mocked Horn to the Jaguars here at No. 26 overall earlier this month, so it is hard to complain much about Renner's own projection of Horn to the Jaguars to team up with CJ Henderson.

"The Jaguars' plan at cornerback this year was C.J. Henderson and pray. It’s pretty much the reason why they’re in line for the No. 1 overall pick. Adding Horn would change that and give the Jaguars two corners capable of playing a hefty amount of man coverage," Renner wrote.

On tape, Horn looks similar to Henderson from when he came out of the University of Florida. He is a long, quick-twitch cornerback who has the size and speed to hold up in man coverage, while also having the instincts and quickness to make plays in zone and in the slot.

Horn and Henderson would give the Jaguars a pair of athletic and physical cornerbacks that could match up and play man coverage with any receiver group. He has a ton of experience as well, starting for the Gamecocks since he was a freshman. He has seen it all in the SEC and has frequently answered the test when matched up with a top reciever.

If there is any question with Horn, it is his ball production. He has just two interceptions in his career, both coming in 2020. With that said, he has 23 pass deflections, three sacks, and seven tackles for loss to go along with two forced fumbles, so it isn't like he didn't make impact plays.

The issue with this pick would really be determined by what Jacksonville's other needs are in April. If they don't retain left tackle Cam Robinson, then a cornerback over a left tackle would be a hard sell. They could also use an impact player at defensive tackle, tight end, or safety.

CB Jaycee Horn has officially declared for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Long and athletic with outstanding compete skills (over the slot WR below). He is currently No. 23 overall on the top-50 board. pic.twitter.com/sdxNDhuAXh
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) November 17, 2020

Now we will move onto Gayle's mock draft, where he gives the Jaguars another SEC cornerback.

For Gayle's full mock draft, click here.

No. 21 overall: Georgia CB Tyson Campbell

Another cornerback may raise question marks to some, but it isn't hard to see why it is a popular pick for the Jaguars. With that said, Campbell is a new name we have seen projected to the Jaguars.

"The Jaguars need to continue to invest draft capital in the secondary. Sidney Jones is the only Jacksonville defender with 100-plus snaps at outside cornerback and a PFF grade above 61.0. Rookie C.J. Henderson should continue to get better with experience as long as he can get healthy, but the rest of the depth chart is a bit of a mess," Gayle

wrote

.

"Georgia cornerback Tyson Campbell is a former five-star athlete with absurd size, length and athleticism for the position. He’s well worth a first-round investment, even if he too needs time to develop like Henderson."

Frankly, it may be impossible to not mock a cornerback to the Jaguars with their second first-round pick. Sure, they just picked Henderson No. 9 overall and drafted three cornerbacks last season, but 2020 has shown the lack of depth the Jaguars have at the position.

Seemingly every single member of Jacksonville's cornerback room has battled either injury or demotions, with only Tre Herndon playing more than 270 coverage snaps.

Henderson played in just eight games as a rookie. D.J. Hayden, who is in the final year of his contract and unlikely to be retained, played in five games. Sidney Jones flashed during the middle of the season but battled an Achilles injury for essentially the entire second half of the season, giving him just nine games played in.

Meanwhile, Chris Claybrooks, Josiah Scott, and Luq Barcoo have all looked like the raw rookies they are, meaning Jacksonville has way more questions at cornerback than they do at any other position outside quarterback.

But does Campbell specifically make sense? Yes, for similar reasons as Horn. He may need more seasoning than Horn and may have more risk to him, but he is an enticing prospect thanks to his fantastic physical tools.

Great effort from @tysoncampbell_ to strip the ball and return it.
Better blocking from the ref. pic.twitter.com/qQG26QEzjw
— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) September 22, 2018

The 6-foot-2 cornerback is one of the best athletes you will see in the secondary in this draft class. He simply moves at a different speed than every other player, something that applied to Henderson as well. This trait alone is a big reason Henderson flashed as a rookie, and it is the biggest reason Campbell has been a successful college cornerback.

Like Horn, Campbell is long, physical, and has quicks to go with his long speed. He doesn't find the ball as well in the air, as evidenced by his one interception and nine pass deflections as a Bulldog.

Despite this, Campbell would give the Jaguars a thrilling duo at cornerback simply because he and Henderson are such athletic marvels for the position. The Jaguars didn't have that much explosion and speed at cornerback even in 2017.

Both of these picks would give the Jaguars an exciting cornerback prospect to pair with Henderson. Is that the best use of a top-25 pick? Maybe not, but the need at cornerback is dire enough that it should still be heavily considered.

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