The Jacksonville Jaguars should see immediate returns from their 2025 draft class. Travis Hunter will get significant playing time on both offense and defense, but he's far from their only rookie who could have a featured role early in the season. Offensive guard Wyatt Milum was selected two rounds later but has also been getting lots of attention.
Gennaro Filice of NFL Media put together an All-Pro rookie Team and included Milum, comparing him to 2024 NFL Draft pick Dominick Puni and arguing that he could have a similar impact as a rookie.
"Milum earned first-team All-Big 12 honors during his final season at West Virginia, with the left tackle allowing zero sacks, per PFF's grading," Filice wrote. "A third-round pick after the Jaguars traded up to select him at No. 89 overall, Milum was drafted to play guard, but at this point, no one projects him to start in Year 1. So, will Milum follow in Puni's footsteps to rookie reown? That remains to be seen, of course, but Liam Coen's already saying nice things about him."
Like Milum, Puni was drafted in the third round. He went to the San Francisco 49ers last year and ended up logging 1,078 starts in 17 starts. With that out of the way, and for the sake of transparency, a handful of analysts do expect the Jaguars rookie to end up starting in 2025.
J.P. Acosta of SB Nation said earlier this year that the transition to guard will be beneficial for the former West Virginia Mountaineer, poiting out that his physical traits make him a better fit to line up inside. Moreover, Acosta thinks he could push incumbent Ezra Cleveland for the starting job at left guard.
Brian Sexton of the team's official website is equally hyped up about Milum, going as far as saying that he could make Cleveland expendable before the start of the regular season.
"Well, listen. It's not a sexy position, but Wyatt Milam, the offensive tackle who's going to be a guard in the NFL, the kid from West Virginia, man," Brian Sexton said during an appearance on 1010 XL (15:00 mark). "He sure looks the part. He's just big and strong, and his feet are really good. Of course, you'd expect that a guy played left tackle and was the best left tackle in the Big 12 conference for a couple years in a row."
Sexton continued, "How long it takes him to get in the starting lineup? I don't know, but it won't be very long. He looks like a guy you can plug and play. I think Ezra Cleveland is one of those guys that you might see him somewhere else before the start of the regular season."
Why the Jaguars will want Wyatt Milum to start in 2025
Worst-case scenario, Wyatt Milum will be the primary backup on the interior offensive line in 2025. However, the Jacksonville Jaguars will surely want him to join the starting lineup as soon as possible. Ezra Cleveland is a solid starter but hasn't been hampered by the injury bug the past two years. Maybe he can put it together next season, but if the new regime were sold on him, it wouldn't have drafted Milum.
It's also worth noting that general manager James Gladstone hasn't been afraid to cut ties with underperforming veterans the past regime brought in, so nobody would bat an eye if he ends up placing Cleveland on the trading block at some point in 2025.
The bottom line is that the Jaguars have a potential gem in Wyatt Milum, and the sooner he gets on the football field, the sooner they'll find out if he is.
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