Jaguars Draft Grades: How Do Pundits Feel About Jacksonville's First Round Picks?

The first round of the 2020 NFL Draft is finally completed, and the Jacksonville Jaguars have two new defenders who can now call 'Sacksonville' home.

With the No. 9 overall pick, the Jaguars selected Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson, a height/weight/speed freak with the potential to match up with a variety of wide receivers thanks to his size, physicality, and athleticism.

With the No. 20 overall pick, Jacksonville general manager Dave Caldwell submitted the pick of LSU defensive end/outside linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson. While Chaisson didn't turn his elite physical traits into a heap of production at LSU, he has the tools to develop into a dangerous pass-rusher across from Josh Allen.

The Jaguars are over the moon with their two selections, noting that Henderson and Chaisson both fit the athletic profiles they want as well as fit the culture they are trying to build at TIAA Bank Field. Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone wanted to walk away from this year's first-round with high-potential athletes who are team-first players, and they did that with Henderson and Chaisson.

But while the Jaguars are happy with their draft haul, do draft analysts feel the same way? To determine the answer, we look at a number of draft grades from national media to get a gauge for what the thoughts are on the Jaguars' picks outside of Jacksonville.

Sports Illustrated, by Andy Benoit:

It’s pretty simple: The Jaguars were strapped for cap space and had to get rid of expensive veteran A.J. Bouye and, before that, soon-to-be expensive superstar Jalen Ramsey. So they did, and to compensate, they drafted the man some see as the best corner in this year’s class," Benoit

wrote

.

Grade: B+

Chaisson won’t even be 21 until July, and naturally, much of his game still needs to be developed. But his raw talent is eye-popping, and the Jags, amidst a roster overhaul, can afford to be patient here. And if last year’s first-round pick, Josh Allen, builds on his encouraging rookie season, this defense can look forward to having one of the league’s most dominant edge-rushing tandems," Benoit wrote.

Grade: B

It is hard to argue with Benoit's logic in a big-picture sense. Jacksonville had major needs at both cornerback and defensive end, which are arguably the two most important positions to every defense. The release of Bouye and the Ngakoue debacle made it a priority for the Jaguars to fill these holes early, and they did so with young, athletic prospects whose best football should be ahead of them.

The Ringer, by Danny Kelly:

"With both Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye gone, the Jaguars desperately needed to restock at cornerback, and they landed my second-ranked player at the position in Henderson. The Florida star is an electric athlete with good size and the ability to play both in press and off-coverage looks. He’s fluid in his backpedal and can flip his hips easily to mirror opponents, planting himself in pass catchers’ back pockets to stay with them downfield," Kelly

wrote

.

Grade: B

The Jags are betting on athletic upside with this pick. Chaisson is a traits-based prospect who lacked the type of production you’d typically like to see from a first-round edge rusher (he notched just 6.5 sacks in 2019), but his electric athleticism and Gumby-like bend makes him one of the most intriguing players in this draft," Kelly

wrote

.

Grade: B+.

Kelly appears to be high on the Jaguars' draft because they got two players who fit all of the athletic traits most people envision an ideal cornerback and defensive end having. While each player has legitimate production concerns, they are ascending players who ideally will hone their games enough to the point where they can begin to make more plays.

CBS Sports, by Pete Prisco:

I love [Henderson] because he can cover. There are so many guys in the NFL that I talked to leading up to the draft that thought he was better than Okudah," Prisco

said

.

Grade: B+

"This is a guy [Chaisson] that has to stay on the field. When he was on the field he was productive, but he had some injury issues. He has to show that he can hold up against the run at 254 pounds," Prisco

said

.

Grade: B+

Prisco, who has Jacksonville roots thanks to his past as a beat reporter covering the Jaguars, is high on each of these picks. The notion that teams saw Henderson as an equal or greater prospect than Jeff Okudah was a popular one in the weeks leading up to the draft, but one has to wonder how much the 40-yard dash performances by each played into that. As for Chaisson, Prisco is right in stating durability is a concern. We do think Chaisson is underrated as a run defender, however.

Yahoo Sports, by Eric Edholm:

The Jaguars add a defensive piece to their rebuild with Henderson, a confident, smooth cover corner whose pre-2019 tape showed the best of what he can be, even with some tackling and playmaking worries," Edholm

wrote

.

Grade: B+.

The Yannick Ngakoue era in Jacksonville is clearly over now thanks to the selection of Chaisson, a traits-heavy pass rusher with versatile skills. Both the Jags' first-round picks are attempts to correct earlier franchise mistakes, which is the only thing we don't like about them. Are they tanking for Trevor?" Edholm

wrote

.

Grade: B

It is hard to nit-pick these grades. The Jaguars went all-in on potential and traits, while taking the risk of inconsistent production and play. Edholm hit the nail on the head here, especially in terms of the fact that each pick is a replacement for players Jacksonville never should have lost in the first place.

NFL.com, by Chad Reuter:

They selected a player to replace Ramsey at No. 9 overall. Henderson's not as physical as Ramsey but is a smooth mover who will be an effective cover man. Chaisson at 20 is a steal. He has the elite bend, length, get-off and strength to be a sack-master for the Jags. Getting the draft's second-best edge rusher at No. 20 does not happen very often," Reuter

wrote

.

Grade: A

It seems like the public opinion on Chaisson is pretty split. Some analysts, like Reuter, consider him a major steal at No. 20 and have him ranked as the second-best pass rusher in the draft after Chase Young. Others believe his injury concerns and rawness as a prospect hurt him some. For the Jaguars' long-term plan to workout, they will need to hope the former is correct.

SB Nation, by Geoff Schwartz

At this point in the draft, Henderson might not have been the highest player on the board, but he was high enough at a position of extreme need. I think the Jaguars did the right thing. They could have overdrafted a wide receiver or an offensive lineman, but this was the best call," Schwartz

said

.

Grade: Pass.

The Jaguars need pass rush help, and Chaisson was the best player left on the board who can rush the passer. With Yannick Ngakoue probably out the door, this makes complete sense," Schwartz

said

.

Grade: Pass.

Schwartz appears to be a big fan of the Jaguars' draft haul simply because they filled major needs. The question is if it is more impactful to fill needs over taking better value with picks, but this is a question the Jaguars will see answered in the not so distant future.

As a whole, it appears most in the national media think the Jaguars, Caldwell, and Marrone did well on Thursday night. While there are obvious concerns with each prospect, the Jaguars alleviated these concerns by taking elite athletes at big positions of need.

The Jaguars should be dinged some for the fact that they even have to replace Jalen Ramsey and Yannick Ngakoue, but they at least went about replacing the duo by taking high-ceiling and high-character players.

How do you feel about the Jaguars' draft? What would be your grade? Let us know in the comments below!