2023 NFL Draft: Why the Jaguars Drafted Tyler Lacy

Did the Jacksonville Jaguars find their Dawuane Smoot replacement in the 2023 NFL Draft? With fourth-round defensive lineman Tyler Lacy, they just might have.

Jacksonville selected Lacy at No. 130 overall, making him their second defensive selection in the entire draft. And for a Jaguars team that did extensive homework on Lacy leading up to the draft -- including a top-30 visit.

"Excellent impression," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said about Lacy's visit, with head coach Doug Pederson agreeing with gusto.

But what stood out to the Jaguars on tape about their newest defensive linemen? For starters, it was his frame -- a trait that was hard to find in this draft class.

"A big-bodied guy. And as you saw in this draft, they were few and far between. There just weren't a lot of big bodies up front," Baalke said. "And he's a guy that's played a lot of football at a high level of competition. He's a class act. Another guy that really a character fit, DNA fit for us."

The role the Jaguars envision for Lacy sounds, well, exactly like the role Smoot has played for the Jaguars for several seasons: defensive end on running downs and interior rusher on passing downs.

"So a guy that we feel can come in and compete, play on the edge in the base package as a big end and maybe slide in a little bit as a D-tackle when we go into the nickel sets," Baalke said.

Lacy, 6-foot-4, 279 pounds, started 44 games for Oklahoma State over the last four seasons, recording 113 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 11.5 tackles, three forced fumbles, and four pass deflections in that span.

Lacy missed three games with an ankle injury in 2019 but started 10 games, recording 20 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two pass deflections.

Lacy started 11 games in 2020, recording 32 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four sacks, earning Honorable Mention All-Big 12.

Lacy started 14 games in 2021, recording 34 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one pass deflection, again earning Honorable Mention All-Big 12.

Lacy finished his career with nine starts in 2022 after missing four games due to an ankle injury, recording 27 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, and one pass deflection.