2022 NFL Draft: Insider Predicts Jaguars Make Surprise Pick at No. 1 Overall

The Jacksonville Jaguars have never been afraid to shake things up in the NFL Draft, but could they do so again with this year's No. 1 overall pick? That is what one insider is predicting in the early phase of the draft process.

In a segment where hosts were asked to make predictions for the future NFL offseason and regular season, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo focused on the draft and the Jaguars when it came to his prediction. And his prediction was one that few have slotted to the Jaguars.

"I am going to predict your No. 1 pick in the draft this year. I am going to say it is Ikem Ekwonu," Garafolo said.

"Ikem Ekwonu to the Jaguars, first overall, the offensive tackle. Why not protect Trevor Lawrence with that No. 1 overall pick? I gather that the Jaguars do like him, so you know what, let's go with that at this point."

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It is interesting that Garafolo isn't simply throwing this out there and is instead reporting the Jaguars are high on Ekwonu early on in the process. Ekwonu is frequently found within the top-3 of offensive tackle rankings in this class alongside Alabama's Evan Neal and Mississippi State's Charles Cross.

There is no consensus tackle considering outlets and draft experts have varied on their order of the three, but analysts such as Daniel Jeremiah and Brandon Thorn have Ekwonu as their No. 1 offensive lineman, while The Athletic's Dane Brugler slotted him to the Jaguars at No. 1 overall in his latest mock draft.

A 6-foot-4, 320 pound lineman, Ekwonu will enter the NFL having experience at several positions. He started the final seven games of NC State's 2019 season at left tackle, becoming the first true freshman at NC State to start at tackle since 2010.

After a successful freshman season, Ekwonu split time at left tackle and left guard in 2020. He started four games at guard and six at tackle, displaying versatility that could help him become a top pick once April rolls around. Thanks to a solid sophomore season, Ekwonu was named second-team All ACC honors from the Associated Press at both guard and tackle.

Ekwonu had arguably his best season in 2021, starting another 11 games and earning unanimous All-American honors, as well as earning All-ACC placement and being named the Jacobs Blocking Award winner as the ACC's top lineman. Thanks to a third successful season, Ekwonu was able to declare for the draft with his name already near the top of many rankings.

The Jaguars will need help along the offensive line, too. They have three starters set to hit free agency in left tackle Cam Robinson, left guard Andrew Norwell, and right guard A.J. Cann, while right tackle Jawaan Taylor had an up-and-down 2021 season.

Jacksonville will be entering the season with a head coach and front office that knows building the trenches up is key as well. With that said, the Jaguars have not followed the exact same draft process as other teams to this point, with general manager Trent Baalke putting his full focus on a coaching search that concluded on Thursday with the hiring of Doug Pederson.

"Well, I think we're going to have to hit the ground running. We've lost some time, but there was nothing more important than getting this hire right, and we did that. Now we've got to switch focus. Coach is hitting the ground running, putting his staff together. The scouts are actually coming in," Baalke said on Saturday. "The scouting staff itself is intact. That's never been a debate. I mean, we have a very strong scouting department. We're going to add to that, and anything we can do to add to that is going to benefit the organization as a whole. So we're looking forward to that.

"The scouts are coming in Sunday, I guess tomorrow, and we'll start going to work on Monday. The pro department's been putting together their list for free agency. We're in very good shape that way. Now it's a matter of involving the coaches, the coaching staff. As Doug and I talked, that's going to be critical, and we're going to have to get after it as soon as we get them through the door."