Fansided’s Matt Lombardo quotes an AFC offensive coach as saying “it’s the worst kept secret that Doug Pederson wants to go offense” with the No. 1 overall pick.
“The problem,” the anonymous coach continues, “I’m not sure there’s a No. 1 overall offensive tackle in this class.” Aidan Hutchinson has been the betting favorite for the No. 1 spot for a solid month at this point. The Jaguars have also been attached to some Travon Walker rumors at the spot. Going offense would likely lead to offensive linemen Evan Neal and Ikem Ekwonu.
At the end of the day the most important player to the Pederson and the Jaguars future is Lawrence. If I am making the decisions, you beef up that O-Line to give Lawrence they absolute best chance of success.
I pretty much don’t believe 90% of the rumors that come out right now and that includes this one.
That said, I always thought it was premature to completely rule out OT for the Jags. I was on the “they’re not taking OT” train back before Hutch became the consensus when they franchised Robinson and signed other dudes in FA, but the pendulum has swung too far the other way. It’s the draft and it’s hard to predict, anything can happen.
I still think they’re going edge but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they didn’t. I don’t think any of the tackles are worth #1 overall, but this is an odd draft class.
How often do we have to say “smoke and mirrors”, at this time of year.
We have no more idea who the Jags are going to draft than we do the Lions.
Lies, rumors, wild speculation. That’s what March and April are made of.
How many crazy trades do you see here where the question of, “Why would the other team do that?” goes unacknowledged in the rush to mock a draft with 4 first-round picks?
Is Okwonu or Neal less prospects then Hutchinson and KT? I personally think if they are, it is isn’t by very much. If we had taken Parsons or Smith instead of Sewell, I’d be perfectly comfortable with Ekwonu.
The reasoning why the Jags aren’t taking an OT never made much sense to me. Cam Robinson is a below average LT on a one year deal. Jawaan Taylor is a below average RT on the last year of his contract. Taylor Little was drafted by a previous regime and how much upside does he even possess? They signed Scherf, but still have a hole at LG.
Draft Ekwonu, play him next to Robinson at LG and let him start at LT in 2023 after Robinson walks.
I personally thought the Jags would go OT back in January and not much have changed that perception. If they had signed Cam Robinson to a massive extension it may have swayed me some, but the franchise tag is a simple band aid.
You can really see this in that simulator thread. I’d say 80+% of them or so have trades, when trades are utterly unlikely. I hope it holds when @Air2theThrown gets around to posting the pick the picks contest, though.
Well personally I have Ekwonu and especially Neal much lower than the draft community overall, though I am even higher on Cross. The problem for me is that ALL of them rank comfortably behind Sewell, Slater, Thomas, Becton, Wills and Wirfs. Like they’re not in the same tier as prospects. So it’s very hard for me to say they should go top 5, let alone #1 overall. That was always my problem with it, more so than what the Jags needed.
Also, while you point out why OT is a plausible pick for the Jags (and I agree, it always has been), edge is equally if not slightly more plausible. Chaisson is a colossal bust, they basically have Josh Allen and no one else. Key is really more of an inside/outside DPR. When coupled with the fact that Hutch is head-and-shoulders above the OTs as a prospect (IMO, of course), then it always seemed like an easy call to me. The Walker love is specific to him being Baalke’s type and at this point, I still see that as more likely than OT. But OT is certainly in play and always has been.
