Mock Draft Roundup: Jeremiah Rebuilds Jaguars’ Front Seven in Post-Combine Projection

'Tis the season for mock drafts, a yearly tradition in which media attempt to project how the second-biggest day on the NFL calendar plays out.

As we inch closer and closer to the 2020 NFL Draft on Apr. 23, we will be tracking how other national media outlets are projecting the Jacksonville Jaguars to attack the draft. With two first-round picks for the first time since 1998, the Jaguars are one of the most interesting teams to monitor throughout this offseason, and it is worth examining how different people view the team's needs and how to address them.

Jacksonville owns picks No. 9 and No. 20, with the former a result of their 6-10 record and the latter a result of the team trading Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams for a pair of first-round picks and one later round selection in 2021. With one of the weaker rosters in the AFC, the Jaguars have a number of directions they could take with their early picks that would make sense. It is ultimately hard to argue against more than two to three positions as positions of need for Jacksonville, so expect for mocks to continue to have wide-ranging results.

This week, former NFL scout and current NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah released a new post-NFL Scouting Combine mock draft that focuses the Jaguars picks on the defensive side of the ball. Like many others, Jeremiah makes it clear that he sees the Jaguars' path to rebuilding the roster going through the middle of the defense.

So, how did Jeremiah map out the Jaguars' first round, and does it seem like a logical possibility for the draft to play out this way? We examined the picks to determine the answer.

No. 9: Auburn DT Derrick Brown

"The Jaguars hit a home run last year with pass rusher Josh Allen (10.5 sacks as a rookie), and they hit another one with this pick," Jeremiah wrote.

Derrick Brown had a dissapointing combine (his three-cone was the slowest among all defensive lineman invited) so it isn't exactly a stretch to say he could still be on the board when the Jaguars pick at No. 9. He has shown encouraging flashes as a pass-rusher, but his 12.5 career sacks in four seasons are fewer than most defensive tackles taken in the top 10. The big question with him is how much he can impact the game on third downs, and the combine did little to alleviate any concerns.

But even with those questions, it isn't hard to imagine Brown would be near the top of the Jaguars' wish list. He is an elite run-defender thanks to his brute strength and massive size, making him a terror for guards and centers to block on a down-by-down basis. The Jaguars' defense was beyond poor vs. the run last season, allowing 139.3 yards per game (fifth-worst in NFL) and 5.1 yards per rush (second-worst in NFL). Placing Brown in the middle of Jacksonville's defense would be a massive step toward alleviating the defense's Achilles heel.

Jacksonville also has a massive need at defensive tackle and will need to address the position early in the draft one way or another. Veteran run-stuffer Marcell Dareus' 2020 team option was declined last week, and 2018 first-round pick Taven Bryan hasn't produced like a consistent disruptor.

Brown makes sense for the Jaguars for a number of reasons. Will he be worth the No. 9 pick is a tougher question to answer, but if he is on the board when the Jaguars pick, it is hard to see him not ending up in teal and black.

No. 20: LSU LB Patrick Queen

Jags GM David Caldwell has always coveted explosive linebackers (while sacrificing size) during his front-office career. Queen (4.5 40) can fly," Jeremiah wrote.

Jeremiah's point here rings true. Since taking over as the Jaguars' general manager in 2013, Dave Caldwell has selected five linebackers and four of them have fit the exact mold Jeremiah referenced, with only 2018 seventh-round selection Leon Jacobs being a bigger linebacker.

Here is how Queen matches up in terms of measurables to the non-Jacobs linebackers Caldwell has drafted in the past:

Patrick Queen: 6-foot-0, 229-pounds. 4.50 40-yard dash.
Telvin Smith: 6-foot-3, 218-pounds. 4.52 40-yard dash.
Myles Jack: 6-foot-1, 245-pounds. Didn't run 40 due to injury.
Blair Brown: 5-foot-11, 238-pounds. 4.65 40-yard dash.
Quincy Williams: 5-foot-11, 225-pounds. 4.59 40-yard dash.

There is a clear trend here with Caldwell's linebacker picks, and Leon Jacobs is only of a different mold because he is strictly a strongside linebacker. When Caldwell has drafted weakside, or middle in Jack's case, linebackers in the past, he has targetted speed and hasn't been too hung up on height or weight.

Queen would slot into the weakside linebacker spot in Jacksonville's defense in this scenario, serving as a long-term replacement for Smith, who retired in May 2019. It is unclear how much Queen would help the Jaguars' run defense from day one since the need for a run-stuffing middle linebacker is greater than the need of a run and hit weakside linebacker, but Queen would fall in line with past Jaguars' picks.

Jack would stick at middle linebacker in this scenario, though the Jaguars have seemed at least open to the idea of him moving around the defense when asked about him this offseason. In the past, the team was much less receptive to the notion that Jack was anything but a middle linebacker.

"The one thing about Myles is that he has been great. He is a guy that is super talented, he has played multiple positions for us already," Marrone said last week at the combine. "Getting him comfortable is really what my main goal is and putting him in a spot where he can go and play and maybe not have to worry about a lot of other people.

"He has done a good job. He has been able to call the defenses for us. He has been a leader on that side of the football. I think at the end of the day, whatever combination is going to make us a better [team], that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to do that in discussions with the player first before we publicly go out there and tell people what we are doing.”

What would you think about the Jaguars' first-round playing out like this? Let us know in the comments below!

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