Michael DiRoccoApr 11, 2026, 11:00 AM
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Like every team in April, the Jacksonville Jaguars have holes to fill on their roster.
They need to improve the pass rush, both on edge and the interior, for example. Replacing linebacker Devin Lloyd, who left in free agency, and finding another tight end to pair with Brenton Strange is important, too.
But the Jaguars' approach in the upcoming draft won't be focused solely on need.
General manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen agree the Jaguars' roster is in good enough shape that they can take a true "best player available" approach with their 11 picks, which all come in Rounds 2-7.
"It's, 'Hey, man, we can draft best players available wherever we're at,'" Coen said. "Now, there's some positions that we would love to get an impact contributor at a few positions, obviously, specifically on the defensive side of the ball, right? But that doesn't mean we're going to shy away from taking a damn good offensive player in the second round either."
Those impact positions include defensive end, defensive tackle, and linebacker. The Jaguars signed defensive end Travon Walker to a three-year extension earlier this month and defensive end Josh Hines-Allen is under contract through the 2028 season. Those two combined for 11.5 sacks last season -- Walker, who had 20.5 sacks in the previous two seasons, was hindered by wrist and knee injuries -- and the Jaguars want to find a third edge rusher.
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The Jaguars had the league's top run defense in 2026, but they want to add more depth behind nose tackle DaVon Hamilton and defensive tackle Arik Armstead.
Finding a replacement for Lloyd, who had five interceptions last season, is a priority as well. Though Ventrell Miller has played in 32 games (11 starts) over the past two seasons, he has not been able to establish himself as a consistent starter and the Jaguars could look for a linebacker early in the draft.
The Jaguars, coming off a 13-4 season and AFC South title, don't have a first-round pick because they traded it to Cleveland to move up and select Travis Hunter last April, so their approach won't start until pick 56 (the 24th pick of the second round). In ESPN's latest three-round mock draft by Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller, Jordan Reid, and Field Yates, the Jaguars address two of those need positions with their first two picks: Missouri linebacker Josiah Trotter at No. 56 and Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton at No. 81.
If that kind of scenario plays out, it doesn't mean the Jaguars aren't going "best available player," Gladstone said. There are multiple things to consider. The Jaguars have prospects ranked in groups and taking a player from the top of the group may mean missing out on a player they also like at a higher position of need from the lower end of the group. Can they live with that? Are there other options to replace either of those prospects in different groups in different parts of the draft?
For example, if the Jaguars have a slightly higher ranking on Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell than Halton and both are available at 56, do they take Halton because it's not regarded as a deep defensive tackle class while it is regarded as a deep edge rusher class? Or do they take Howell because he has a slightly higher rating?
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That's why taking the best available player is never as simple as it sounds, Gladstone said. However, the main point is that he believe their roster is in good enough shape to do that when they can.
"I think you'd like to say it's going to best player available. It's always going to come with a little nuance," Gladstone said. "You're going to compare across positions. Where there's a clear visual for contributions and a vision from our coaching staff to see that player's skill set come to life ... all that stuff has to be weighed against each other. When you have two like players and one position allows maybe an earlier runway [to the player having success], you lean towards that direction. But it's not so black and white all the time.
"That's the type of dynamic you would want to be able to walk in at each pick point with, the idea that we're not pigeonholed to one or two positions, but we have all of them where we feel comfortable taking a shot if the right or best player presents themselves."