Jaguars Have Sent a Very Large Message With Emmanuel Pregnon Selection

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars made a massive move on Friday night -- literally.

The Jaguars got one of the top values of the entire 2026 NFL Draft so far when they nabbed Oregon's Emmanuel Pregnon at No. 88 overall, a far cry from his spot at No. 41 on the consensus board and his widely-consensus place in the second round of mock drafts.

By taking the massive people-mover out of Oregon, the Jaguars did not just get bigger and tougher. They also sent a rather big message to the rest of their offensive line.

Message Sent and Received

Simply put, there are no spots that are about to be given out on the Jaguars offensive line. Everything will have to be earned, and jobs will have to be won and lost. The Jaguars did not just add offensive line depth with this selection -- they added one of the best offensive linemen in the entire draft.

Perhaps he fell to the third due to age or lack of positional versatility, but that does not matter for the Jaguars. What does matter is the kind of impact he could have. That impact could be as a starting guard early on in his Jaguars career, as long as he wins a job. To do so, he will be competing with the likes of veteran guards Ezra Cleveland and Patrick Mekari and fellow former third-round pick Wyatt Milum.

While Pregnon is just one player, he poses a challenge of sorts to all three of these players. He is a more natural left guard than right guard, which means he could put pressure on Cleveland early. The most likely scenario is that Cleveland starts in 2026 while Pregnon backs him up and then replaces him next season, but with the right kind of training camp and offseason, Pregnon could turn up the heat early.

The players Pregnon could really push to the limit in 2026 are Mekari and Milum. Mekari was the Jaguars' highest-paid free agent a year ago, but injuries led to a so-so season. With two young guards now behind him on the depth chart, he will have to come out swinging in training camp. Then there is Milum, who was a reserve a year ago. Milum already had an unclear path to snaps, and it is a bit more unclear now.

"The nice thing is we always said since being in LA in '22 in that tough year that we're never going to put ourselves in a position to not have depth up front and to not have great competition, depth. For what it does for Wyatt, I'm not sure," Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said on Friday. "Wyatt has got a ton of flexibility for him to go out, particular out at tackle and play on the inside at guard.

liam coe — Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen speaks during a press conference at the Miller Electric Center, Monday, April 20, 2026 in Jacksonville, Fla. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"The nice thing is we've got a lot of depth and competition coming up for -- obviously this being a little bit more of a learning phase throughout the spring, that you're not going to probably be able to see maybe what Wyatt's best traits are with a helmet on and shorts or maybe same thing with Emmanuel. We have to wait until training camp to let that stuff play itself out. But shoot, I know in the last two years, getting two interior linemen with a little bit of flex that are 320, 315 plus that have that ass and mass that we're looking for, that's helpful to the cause."

The mesage from the Jaguars and Coen is clear. The Jaguars' offensive line better come to training camp ready to play, because the selection of Pregnon shows that is a new day.

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