In case you missed it, a lot happened with the Jacksonville Jaguars near the end of last week. Mainly, the organization announced plans to part ways with a number of players as soon as the new league year starts on Wednesday.
For a team that has been characterized by all three of the brand new front office additions in Jacksonville as "not a rebuild," with "a lot of key positions locked up," they sure have gutted the team.
Moving on from certain players, including major contributors like tight end Evan Engram and wide receiver Christian Kirk, was not entirely unexpected. Moving on from almost all of them is a little surprising, though. And as the Jaguars enter free agency next week, they find themselves in custody of a roster with more holes than fans originally thought.
Mock draft season has been in effect for a few weeks now, and with the NFL combine having just finished, many fans were in full draftnik mode. Of course, mock drafting is more or less simply a fun activity for hard-core NFL fans to stay engaged and mentally embed themselves into the essence of their favorite teams.
Fans can try and fill in the blanks with potential additions that would seem to fit. Players like Jevon Holland and Jaire Alexander are popular assumptions. With Mitch Morse's retirement, plenty of fans have penciled in the top available center, Drew Dalman, as a lock for Duval.
The fun in mock drafting lies primarily in trying to match up perceived needs with perceived talent in the draft. Most die-hard fans are keenly aware of the shortcomings in Duval, but with the flurry of announcements yesterday, a re-evaluation is in order.
With last week's moves, the Jags' personnel went from being a group in need of several upgrades, to a roster with holes everywhere.
What's change for the Jaguars? What are their biggest needs after a flurry of moves?
Early last week, most mock drafts featured the addition of several interior line players for both offense and defense, along with some secondary players and maybe a wide receiver or backup edge. An especially deep running back class is also tempting, and with recent chatter that the Jags could trade Etienne, those prospects become even more tantalizing.
Wide receiver has gone from a spot where the Jags could use an upgrade to an absolute necessity. Tight end is in desperate need of depth, at a minimum. The secondary is paper thin now, as expected. Mitch Morse's retirement added to an already needy O-Line.
Probably the most fashionable pick for the Jaguars at number five overall had been defensive tackle Mason Graham. The former Michigan Wolverine, considered to be a potential difference-maker, was seen by many to be the pass-rush addition in the middle of the D-line necessary to maximize the impacts of Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker.
But, as of this moment, Graham at No. 5 wouldn't make any sense at all from a need perspective. With needs at nearly every other position group, the 3-technique defensive tackle position is the one spot on the roster that actually has depth, with both Arik Armstead and second-year player Maason Smith penciled in for 2025.
And with tons of cap space available to the Jags, there's no telling who they will or won't sign in free agency. Could they sign a starting safety? Absolutely. Is a trade for a top-shelf corner in the offing? Very possibly. Could a blockbuster trade for a beast wide receiver be in the works? Sure, why not?
They could do one or all of those things and more. Or, they might look for free-agent bargains and take a longer-term approach to building a championship-caliber roster. Who knows? What if they don't address Wide Receiver at all in the next week? All of a sudden, wide receiver becomes an urgent need with the No. 5 pick.
Couple all of these needs with a brand new front office with whom fans are unfamiliar, and predicting the next week is practically impossible, which makes trying to predict who they might take in the draft double impossible.
By all means, continue mock drafting until your heart's content. It's fun. But, don't get too attached to any given scenario. The entire landscape in Jacksonville could be completely different by this time next week.
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