2023 NFL Draft: How Did the Cam Robinson Situation Impact the Jaguars' First Round?

The Jacksonville Jaguars moved quickly to secure extra protection for Trevor Lawrence on Thursday night, using the No. 27 overall pick on Oklahoma offensive tackle Anton Harrison.

While there are plenty of reasons the Jaguars made the pick, it is without question that one of the primary forces is the looming Cam Robinson situation.

Robinson, last year's primary starter at left tackle, is facing a multigame suspension by the NFL for an undisclosed amount of games for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. As a result, the Jaguars had to factor in the likely short-term loss of Robinson as they balanced their board.

"Everything plays into the draft. Everything plays into the pick. But, again, I can't stress enough, our board was set," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said on Thursday night.

"We knew it was a pending situation for a while. But our board was set strictly on ability and the value of the player. Coach and I talked a lot about it, just trust the board. Let's walk away from the first round with a player That we really like and covet, regardless of the position. There were multiple opportunities. If it was that big a deal, we would obviously have made that pick and not traded back. We feel really good about how the day went. We got a lot of picks to go here in day two and day three.”

So, did the Robinson suspension force the Jaguars' hand? Yes and no.

Yes, the Jaguars had to factor in Robinson's looming suspension when they looked at their first-round options. But, as Baalke said, if the Jaguars were that desperate, they wouldn't have traded down from No. 24 to No. 25 and then again to No. 27.

“Again, without going into where we had guys valued on the board, because that doesn't help us long-term, we felt really good about the pick. There was no sense in trying," Baalke said.

"Had opportunities to move back some more. We felt at that point in time there was too much risk involved. We felt really good about the pick. Coach and I looked at each other and said, let's make the pick.”

Robinson has appeared in 75 games during his six-year career after being drafted No. 34 overall in 2017. Last season, Robinson started in 14 games at left tackle, with 2022 second-round left tackle Walker Little (No. 45 overall) taking the other five starts.

Robinson missed the final five games of the season last year due to a meniscus injury. When asked last week if Robinson would be recovered by the start of training camp, Jaguars' general manager Trent Baalke said, "From a health standpoint, yes.”

Robinson officially signed a three-year contract extension with the Jaguars last offseason worth a max total of $54 million with $33 million guaranteed.

Robinson's deal ranks No. 11 in total value among left tackles, No. 6 in average annual value, and No. 9 in practical guarantees according to Spotrac.

The Jaguars had Little start five games in Robinson's place at left tackle last season, including two playoff games. Little is expected to start the season for the Jaguars at left tackle, with Harrison now the likely right tackle.

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