What Would Change if a Duval Draft Day DeLorean Existed?

This week in July of 1985, one of the most iconic films in the history of cinema hit the silver screen when "Back to the Future" was released. The movie struck a chord with movie-goers of all ages and made the concept of time travel fascinating and ponderous for generations.

As in life, there are no true mulligans in professional sports. But mock redrafts are published all of the time. But there's a flaw in what you see with those. It's basically just a reranking of the draft order without consideration of the position that was chosen that year. It's lazy in a way.

With the time circuits set to the war room throughout the past 30 NFL Drafts, here are eight choices that alter the space-time continuum for the Jacksonville Jaguars and would have helped the front office from crashing into a truck full of manure at times over the years.

1999 - CB Dre' Bly - North Carolina (Round 2-41) over Fernando Bryant - Alabama (Round 1-26)

Fernando Bryant had a marginal five-year career in Jacksonville. Over his 10 years in the league, his seven interceptions, 77 pass defenses, and 0 TDs pale in comparison to Bly's 11-year total of 43 picks,150 pass defenses, and five scores. Ironically, the two were teammates in Detroit at the same time.

1999 - WR Darrell Jackson - Florida (Round 3-80) over R.Jay Soward - USC (Round 1-29)

Soward is one of the biggest disappointments in Duval draft history. A violation of the league's substance abuse policy halted his NFL career at 13 games, 14 receptions,154 yards, and only one touchdown. Jackson dwarfed those numbers over nine years with 499 catches, 7,132 yards, and 51 scores, mostly with Seattle. Do you think the Jaguars would want that pick back?

2004 WR Lee Evans -Wisconsin (Round 1-13) over Reggie Williams (Round 1-9)

The Jaguars could have drafted QB Ben Roethlisberger here, but that's not a part of the drill. Instead, the team went the WR route with Reggie Williams, who did put up 189 receptions over five seasons with 2,322 yards and 18 TDs. But, just how much better would Evans have been with his 381 grabs, 43 touchdowns, and 6,008 yards gained, just a few picks later?

2005 WR Roddy White - Alabama-Birmingham (1-27) over Matt Jones - Arkansas (1-21)

With 11 years in the league, all in Atlanta, Roddy White is 45th all-time on the NFL career list of receivers with 10,863 yards on 808 catches and 63 trips to the end zone. Converted QB Matt Jones, picked six slots higher, is not. Where does 166 catches for 2,153 yards and 15 TDs in four years rank?

2008 DE Calais Campbell - Miami, FL (2-50) over Derrick Harvey - Florida (1-8)

Derrick Harvey wasn't a horrible pick with eight sacks in his three seasons in Jacksonville, but he was compared to Calais Campbell. Eventually ending up in Northern Florida, the sure-fire Hall of Famer has countless awards and accolades displayed in an oversized trophy case. Still going, the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year recipient is back with the team that originally drafted him for his 18th season of a career that saw him rack up 110.5 sacks.

2011 QB Andy Dalton - TCU (Round 2-35) over Blaine Gabbert - Missouri (Round 1-10)

Blaine Gabbert and Andy Dalton were both NFL survivors. Gabbert retired in 2023 as mostly a career backup with poor stats and a rough go in Duval. Dalton is embarking on his 15th season and has been solid as a backup and a starter with an 84-82-2 record, 3,514 completions, 39,500 passing yards, 253 touchdown passes, and 150 interceptions. It seems like Dalton would have brought more to Duval.

2012 WR T.Y. Hilton - Florida Int (Round 3-92) over Justin Blackmon - Oklahoma State (Round 1-5)

Jacksonville's luck with Round 1 receivers continued with Justin Blackmon. Faring slightly better than Soward, Blackmon also violated the league's substance abuse policy, never to return. In two Jacksonville seasons, his only in the league, Blackmon had 93 receptions for 1,280 yards and six touchdowns. Hilton, in turn, pulled in 638 receptions for 9,812 yards and 53 trips to the end zone.

2013 OT Lane Johnson - Oklahoma (Round 1-4) over Luke Joeckel - Texas A&M (Round 1-2)

The first round of the NFL Draft was disastrous for most teams, with the exception of a very few. It wasn't for the Philadelphia Eagles when they selected Lane Johnson with the fourth pick. Johnson has exhibited gold-standard play over his 12 seasons and counting. A two-time Super Bowl Champ and All-Pro, Johnson has been selected to 6 Pro Bowls as well. Joeckel last played 50 games in the NFL before washing out. Not ideal for a No. 2 overall pick.

The DeLorean was running out of plutonium, so the trip ended there. It's a good thing because the time circuits were conflicted on RB Leonard Fournette vs. Christian McCaffrey vs. Alvin Kamara vs. Joe Mixon. That's an entirely different trip.

Although fun, in the end, there are a lot of aspects of the space-time continuum that are better left pure. So getting back in time is imperative, or we may not be talking about Trevor Lawrence or Brian Thomas Jr. right now. Nor would we find excitement in a 2025 full of Travis Hunter, Travon Walker, Josh Hines-Allen, or anybody. Just for a team that is destined to bring back the power of love to the fans of Duval.

One last thing, save the clock tower!

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