2023 NFL Draft: Who Do Jaguars Land at No. 24 in SI's Mock?

Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr had an interesting scenario for the Jaguars at No. 24 overall.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have only selected one first-round tight end in franchise history. Could that change on Thursday?

That is what Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr suggests in his latest mock draft, with the Jaguars landing one of the draft's top pass-catchers to pair with Evan Engram at the position: Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid.

"Kincaid can be a slot receiver while he learns the ropes behind Evan Engram. NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah compared Kincaid to a more athletic version of Zach Ertz. I know a coach who really enjoyed having Ertz—and multiple receiving tight ends—in the offense at the same time. Engram can play out the year on the franchise tag and move on in 2024," Orr wrote. 

A former high school basketball player, Kincaid started playing football in his senior year of high school and was ranked a no-star recruit.

Kincaid eventually enrolled with San Diego, where he caught 19 touchdowns in two seasons and led all FCS tight ends in yards per catch in 2019.

After 24 games with San Diego, Kincaid transferred to Utah. He appeared in five games in 2020, catching one pass for 14 yards before returning as a starter in 2021. In 13 starts, he caught 36 passes for 510 yards and eight touchdowns, earning Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 honors.

Kincaid came back to Utah for his final season in 2022, appearing in 12 games and starting nine. He finished with 70 catches for 890 yards and eight touchdowns, earning Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-Pac-12 honors. 

The biggest question for Kincaid and his fit at No. 24 is whether the Jaguars truly see tight end as a need, or more specifically if they view the F-tight end position as a need. 

Just in terms of snaps, it would be hard for Kincaid to find the field in 2023 because the Jaguars already have Engram and Christian Kirk starting in the slot, while Calvin Ridley, Jamal Agnew, and Zay Jones can all take snaps inside as well. For a tight end like Kincaid who operates more like a jumbo slot receiver, it is hard to imagine him finding his way into the mix early on. 

There is also the fact that the Jaguars are working toward a long-term extension with Engram. Kincaid would make sense as a replacement for Engram, but if the Jaguars are serious about keeping Engram around for years to come, then an addition like Kincaid in the first round would be a bit counterproductive. 

The Jaguars also seemed to shoot down tight end as a need last week, with both head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke seemingly putting confidence in young tight ends Luke Farrell and Gerrit Prince.

“We’re going to look to build that room and get as strong as we can. We don’t feel that it’s an absolute necessity to add to that room, but if there’s an opportunity to add to it, we will.," Baalke said during a pre-draft press conference on Thursday. 

"We still feel like Evan, Luke, and Gerrit right now, the three we have, we know we’ll bring guys in for camp and will compete there. That’s a strong room," Pederson said.

"Yeah, there’s two young players there, but we’ve got a lot of high expectations for those players as well and they know that. It’s something that we’re always going to keep an eye on as we go in every year and try to have the best tight end room for our quarterback.”