2022 NFL Draft Rumors: Tracking Each Jaguars Nugget Ahead of No. 1 Pick

The lead-up to the NFL Draft is always known as silly season. There are countless smokescreens, rumors, false narratives, and so much more in the days before the draft. Some of it is true, but much of it simply feeds the spectacle of the NFL Draft.

“Again, we worry about our board and how we have players valued. I really don’t pay much attention to what other people are thinking or saying because you don’t know," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said last Friday.

"You don’t know what’s fact. You don’t know what’s fiction at this point. This is a unique period where I think there’s a lot of guys that are valued very similar, the quarterback position is what it is this year, so it’ll be interesting how the top ten play out when it’s all said and done.”

So, what is the rumor mill saying so far this week and what could it all mean moving forward? We round them up and break it down below.

Shad Khan taking an active role in preparation for No. 1 pick

The most detailed report to come out on the Jacksonville Jaguars' pre-draft process thus far came from none other than Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, who spoke with Jaguars owner Shad Khan for his Monday Morning Quarterback column.

“Yeah, I have an opinion,” Khan told Breer about the No. 1 pick. “I do have an opinion. We are supposed to get together on Wednesday, and so I don’t have as firm a decision as I did maybe last year, but I do have it. I think we’ll have to really firm up the draft board, so we have clarity on all the permutations and combinations we’re gonna hit."

The Jaguars are obviously in a much different situation this year than they were when they held the No. 1 pick last year. Last year, the Jaguars were always clearly going to take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. This year, there is an actual debate and decision to be had; and now, it appears Khan is going to make sure he is a part of that decision.

“When you have a No. 1 pick, and it’s a quarterback, they’re gonna define the franchise for a long time,” Khan told Breer. “But this pick is very, very important to us because they have to fit in culturally. Obviously, they’re going to be talented, we have to evaluate that. But we look at them as coming in and really having an immediate impact on the team. And we’ve had free agents, but we’re still a very young team. So who we pick, I think the leadership quality, the work ethic, setting an example, all of those are really, really, very important things.”

Peter King: 'Expect a surprise'

One of the most plugged-in national writers in all of football is Peter King, who has spent the last several decades reporting and writing his way to football's Mount Rushmore of writers. As such, it is always key to track how King reports on the NFL Draft and what he is seeing and hearing at the top of the draft each year.

Few national writers have more important and relevant mock drafts than King's annual mock, making Monday an important update from the NBC Sports writer. King went with Travon Walker over Aidan Hutchinson, Ikem Ekwonu, and Evan Neal at No. 1, but he also provided a potentially significant piece of information.

"Expect a surprise, I heard out of Jacksonville recently. Hmmm," King wrote. "That would eliminate Aidan Hutchinson here. The trendy pick after that has been Walker, so that really wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Ikem Ekwonu, perhaps? I’ll go with the one-year-college-start upside guy, Walker."

"It’s risky, and I’m as skeptical of one-year wonders as the next mock-drafter, but it falls into GM Trent Baalke’s history of taking the athletic playmakers. I’ve got a video to show you about Walker."

It is hard to say that Walker would be a surprise at this point. Same with Ekwonu, even if the Jaguars are widely projected to take Walker or Hutchinson. Neal would be the only real surprise here. A trade would be, too.

Ikem Ekwonu smoke continues

Two different national reporters have continued to stoke the flames when it comes to Ikem Ekwonu. The commonly-held belief has been that if the Jaguars select an offensive lineman, it would be Ekwonu. The North Carolina State left tackle has some of the best upside in the class, can play either left tackle or guard and seems to be a solid fit in Doug Pederson's offense.

On top of all of this, there is also recent smoke supporting Ekwonu as a potential option at No. 1.

"It's draft week, which means it's lying week, but there is a lot of chatter this morning about the Jaguars and Ikem Ekwonu," ESPN's Matt Miller said on Monday. "Could be that they like him a lot and might not draft him…but the buzz is definitely out there that he is in play at No. 1 overall."

"One common refrain, even with scuttlebutt I heard over the weekend that a Cam Robinson extension could be coming, is that Pederson so values offensive linemen that even with a paycheck for a good-not-great player like Robinson—one ex-co-worker of Pederson’s said, “I’d think he’d want to keep building that up,'" Breer wrote in his Monday Morning Quarterback column.

"So while we’ve mentioned that Baalke may feel some pressure to take the chalk pick (Hutchinson), and may like the traits-y projection (Walker), and the Jags could use another edge to play with Josh Allen, that tug is there for me that Pederson might still push for the kind of tackle he had in Philly (Jason Peters/Lane Johnson) or Kansas City (Eric Fisher/Mitchell Schwartz). Jacksonville also has done a ton of work on the line group and, for what it’s worth, I heard very early on Baalke likes Ekwonu."

Jaguars owner leaning toward Aidan Hutchinson?

There has been speculation by some in the media that the Jaguars could be split on what they want to do at No. 1. This seems unlikely considering how in lock-step Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke have been so far, but Pro Football Network's Tony Pauline went as far as to say owner Shad Khan has planted his flag on one specific player.

"While there’s a minority that continues to speculate the Jaguars could still take an offensive lineman with the first pick of the draft, the consensus is that they’ll go with one of the pass rushers, Aidan Hutchinson or Travon Walker — but which one?" Pauline wrote. "Sources continue to tell me that Trent Baalke wants Walker, but owner Shad Khan prefers Hutchinson.

This doesn't mean Hutchinson is the favorite to go No. 1, but if true then it would add an interesting element to the No. 1 pick. Regardless, it appears the Jaguars' trio of decision-makers in Khan, Pederson, and Baalke have some important conversations that are ready to be had.

Schefter not sold on Hutchinson at No. 1

One of the firmer stances taken so far on the No. 1 overall pick has come from ESPN's Adam Schefter, who had some bold wording to use when discussing why he doesn't think Aidan Hutchinson will be the No. 1 pick.

"I'm not convinced that Aidan Hutchinson will be the number 1 overall pick. I think Jacksonville either will go Travon Walker or one of the OL. I think that's more likely than Aidan Hutchinson." Schefter
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) April 25, 2022

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