Jacksonville Jaguars Fan Forums

What grade would you give our 2023 draft?

C

Too many longshots to make the roster
Poor positional value given roster needs
Inability to trade back up

I like the OT
TE looks like an  optimistic outlook - fingers crossed
then the whole thing kind of flounders around in muddy water to me

I'm glad they found bodies at OLB/edge, DT, and DB, but they are all fighting against the odds to be real contributors in 2023 based on actual rookie production from those areas of the draft historically - and i think 6 or 7 picks will not even make the roster

At the moment. I am going with a B-.

I don't like the idea that we picked up a bunch of day three picks and then completely failed in doing anything noteworthy by moving back up or by trading for an NFL ready player at an area of need. They did manage to flip one of their choices into a fourth round pick next year. Which isn't too bad. We should be getting a 3rd and 4th/5th round compensatory pick in next year's draft as well for Taylor and Key leaving in free agency.

We also have to have some fallback options if Ridley ultimately lives up to our hopes and we have to fork over a higher draft pick to Atlanta next year.

Selections I like:
Anton Harrison - Obvious need, can play either tackle position.
Brenton Strange - Fills a need and firepower in the H-Back role. Something we lacked last year.
Tyler Lacy - Fills a void Smoot left behind.
Yasir Abdullah - Fantastic value where we landed him. You don't accidentally rack up nearly 20 sacks in two years.
Antonio Johnson - Fantastic value where we landed him. Another in the box option with the ability to help in the nickel if needed.
Derek Parish - Versatile value here, makes special teams, adds a position back to the roster we haven't had in a few years.

Selections I am neutral on:
Parker Washington - Decent slot compliment potentially with solid hands and special team's value.
Christian Braswell - By all accounts, really solid and sound coverback.
Cooper Hodges - By all accounts, classic overachiever. Has a shot, albeit, a long shot, but, it's there.
Raymond Vohasek - Big body with elite, short line speed. Long shot to make it but offers PS value.

Selections I didn't like:
Tank Bigsby - Taking another back in the draft? Fine. With the 88th pick? Not fine. He has to not only CLEARLY separate himself as the #2 back but he has to hit very specific marks for me to be okay down the stretch. I want to see ball security out of him, quick, decisive decision making with the running lanes available to him and at least 600+ yard of total offense and 5+ TD's out of him.

Ventrell Miller - Taking another ILB after two picks were made there last year with Oluokon being our best FA pick up on defense there last year? Head scratcher. Depends on what they do with Lloyd now I guess. If he's not moving to outside. What the hell is Miller going to be doing? He seems very one dimensional and better in run support and he's going to have to replace somebody on ST's.

Erick Hallett II - Nit picky with him being the 208th pick but I would have preferred Zack Kuntz there instead. Still feel like our TE room is lacking going into training camp. Hallett seems like a solid prospect. I just hate that we took Johnson and Braswell and then added another DB here when it could have been thrown at the TE room. Especially with Kuntz being a freak athlete there. Or even Brayden Willis out of Oklahoma. Kuntz to the Jets. Willis to the 49ers. Wouldn't be surprised if both of those guys are contributing late this year as a rookies.

Had they taken Herbig, another solid pass rusher that the Steelers ended up getting instead of Miller. I bump them up to a B. Had they taken Kuntz? I would have bumped them up to a B+. Had they managed to trade back up into RD2 or RD3 and landed another starting quality offensive lineman. I probably would have given them an A for it. Even if it means losing out on some of the late day steals they managed to pick-up.

I think I’ve put the grade in other threads. But I would give this draft a provisional B+.

I didn’t like the value of drafting tank where we did. I do think however, that there is value in adding a true running mate for ETN. The other guys we have are just guys. So if the pick turns out as good as Trent and Doug are hoping , it will be a B+

I love that we got to offensive lineman.

I love that we finally address nickel. I hope it turns out.

I’ve really warmed up to the strange pic after freaking out when they made it.

Miller was the real head scratcher. My sense is that that was a wasted pick.


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Chad Reuter gave us a B+. Warren Scharpe also said something about us having the 10th best overall value per pick grading.

I know we have our opinions but I am pretty glad seeing that out there in the mainstream.

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I'll give this a B. I was juggling between B and B-. I felt the needs were met and solid depth in key positions filled. I would have given this grade higher if it wasn't for about 4 reaches in this draft. Overall, I'm happy with most of the players selected. Bigsby would be the pick I hated.

I gave it a C, but that's a C- and was bordering on D+.  I hate to be negative because I'm a Jaguars fan, but I really didn't like this draft.  I would have done it very differently.

If you go by the various media outlets that did player rankings, the majority of our picks were major reaches.  I know Baalke probably has them rated differently, but if we are to just assume that the GM is always perfect, why not just hand out "A" grades for all 13 picks and call it a day? 

Day 1 was fine.  I did like trading down and taking Harrison in the first.  The Jaguars then made questionable picks on Day 2.  I don't like taking a tight end #2 with our second round pick.  I don't like taking a running back #2 with our third round pick.  These are part time players at non-premium positions.  I expected more out of our Day 2 picks.

For Day 3, I like Antonio Johnson and Parker Washington.  Nothing else excites me.  Pass rusher and nickel back were two of our three biggest needs going into the draft and we did too little, too late.  It appears that Antonio Johnson will play safety and special teams and not nickel corner.  As such, we're relying on picks #202 and #208 to provide competition to Tre Herndon.  If one of those isn't a diamond in the rough, the failure to upgrade nickel corner will be a major failure of this draft.  The same could be said for pass rusher.  By taking non-needs early, we waited too long to address the crucial position of pass rusher.  We got too little, too late.  I also don't understand the Ventrell Miller pick.  Another backup ILB?  We also got fleeced on trading a 4th rounder for a future 4th rounder plus a pathetic 7th rounder.  When trading for a future pick, you are expected to get a round earlier. 

I also hated the overall strategy of not trading up.  I know it's hard to say who would have taken what, but this draft set a record for the number of draft day trades.  We couldn't find opportunities to trade up?  We took a bunch of picks who won't make the team and even if they do, will mostly be third stringers or special teams players.  I only see us coming away with one immediate starter in this draft.  This team needed quality, not quantity and we didn't get it.  This draft was a big disappointment.

I was torn between grading it a "C" or "B."

Positives:

1. Harrison was the right pick in round 1 plus they added a couple of picks,

2. Strange, Bigsby and Johnson are likely to become important parts of the team's nucleus.

3. Lacy and Washington should also be contributors in their rookie season, although Washington
    will be used mostly on special teams unless Kirk gets hurt.


Negatives:

1. Baalke did a very poor job getting the best value on his picks, especially on Day 2. While I like
    Strange and Bigsby, both were taken a round early and better players could have been taken. If he
    wanted to move up for Keion White, he had the ammunition to outbid the Patriots. White would have
    been an excellent choice to improve the pass rush.

2. He also failed at finding a starting nickel despite having several opportunities to get one. I'm admittedly
    a fan of Branch and would have moved up for him, but there were several other excellent nickel candidates they
    missed out on. One that stands out is Clark Phillips, who they easily could have moved up to get in round 4. He
    would have been a steal there and would have been an immediate starter. Again, I don't buy the argument that
    teams would not let him trade up; if the offer was good enough it would have been accepted. Phillips was originally
    expected to be taken no later than round 2 until his combine. He will make at least one pro-bowl and would have been
    much better than Ventrell Miller, who will be no better than an average linebacker in the NFL.

3. Pass rush was another big need I'm not sure they properly addressed. I don't see Lacy as a guy that will get the sacks
    that Smoot or Key did. Abdullah was an excellent pass rusher at Louisville, but his small stature (6'1", 237 pounds) will
    make it difficult to succeed in the NFL. Nick Herbig, another undersized PR, would have been a better pick as his sack
  numbers were equal to Abdullah against much better competition in the Big 10 plus he has a great bloodline.


For these reasons, I feel the draft was not bad but could have been much better. Even if they lost Strange and Bigsby, they could
have easily drafted a tight end and running back later (Kuntz or Durham at TE and several other good backs) who would have been
equally good. Adding White, Phillips and Herbig would have put this draft over the top, in my opinion, and I would have graded it an "A"
rather than the "C+" it deserves.

I say B

Mel Kiper's Grade

Jacksonville Jaguars: B
Top needs entering the draft: CB, OT, DE, OLB, TE

Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke made two trades down in Round 1, acquiring extra fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round picks in the process. That's a coup for dropping down just three spots and still getting an offensive tackle who could start as a rookie. With Cam Robinson facing a suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy, Anton Harrison (27) might have to be thrown into the fire on the left side. Harrison allowed just one sack over the past two seasons. He had a lot of fans inside the NFL.

If Baalke & Co. didn't go with a tackle in the first round, I thought they might go with a tight end. The Jags filled that need with Brenton Strange (61) in Round 2. Strange had been rising since the combine; I went back to study his tape after his combine workout, and I liked what I saw. He has the talent to turn into a solid pass-catcher. I also liked the value for edge rusher Yasir Abdullah (136) and safety Antonio Johnson (160) on Day 3, but I would have gone with running back Roschon Johnson over Tank Bigsby (88) in the third round. Bigsby is a physical runner, but does he have the speed to rip off chunk yardage? It was just a little high for me.

Jacksonville ended up with six selections in the final two rounds, and my favorite was wideout Parker Washington (185), who has a chance to contribute early out of the slot. Baalke took a few fliers late, which I always recommend.

There's not much flash about this class, but the substance is important, as Harrison and Strange fill holes and have high-level potential.

---

Pete Pricso's Grade

Jacksonville Jaguars: B-
Best Pick: I really like fifth-rounder Yasir Abdullah from Louisville. He is a tough, physical player who can rush off the edge, which the Jaguars need. He was on my Better-Than team.

Worst Pick: I didn't love the pick of running back Tank Bigsby in the third round. He's a solid enough back, but there were better options and they could have used that pick for defense. He was picked to help their problems in short-yardage situations.

The Skinny: Trading down and adding picks and still getting tackle Anton Harrison makes sense, considering they have to give Trevor Lawrence a mega-deal, which means cheap labor will be needed. That's also why having 13 picks matters. But I didn't love the second-round pick (TE Brenton Strange) or Bigsby that much. They better hope a lot of those third-day guys play. I liked fifth-round safety Antonio Johnson and sixth-round corner Christopher Braswell in addition to Abdullah.

B

As long as our 2023 NFL Draft class pans out, we the fans will be truly happy unlike some of us were during the three day selection process. Man some of y'all Seriously Freaked out. I expect this class of which was somewhat specifically tailored to acquire second and third tier talent while also improving our short yardage performances to be exactly what Pederson envisioned. I cant wait to see how he uses them.

Time Will Tell.

NH3...

The only way a person can "grade" a draft immediately after it takes place is if they assume they know more than the person making the picks.  But such an assumption is absurd if you compare the effort spent by the general managers and their scouting staffs to the effort spent by any of us.  This is the time of year when plumbers, used car salesmen, and office workers pretend they know more than NFL general managers and scouts. 

As long as you (meaning everyone out there, not just you) understand that you are only pretending to know enough to give a grade, and we're all just having a fun fantasy giving these grades, fine.  But if you really think your "grade" means anything, you need to see a shrink.

I think Prisco has it pretty close. I’d give them a B though rather than a B- as I thought the TE selection was a decent pick. The draft especially the later rounds are a crap shoot but you need to fill out the bottom of your roster too. I wish they had grabbed another DE.

I think we need to see how this all plays out, as others have stated. However, my fantasy (for fun grade) is a a C plus. I just don’t feel like we got enough impact players for the amount of picks. However, I’m hoping the strategy of volume pays off, and we find out there is a Telvin smith in there who comes in and outplays his draft position (without the off the field issues).

‘Draft grade’s’ immediately after the draft are worthless and always have been.  The [BLEEP] guys haven’t even played a pro snap.

(05-01-2023, 08:18 AM)RicoTx Wrote: [ -> ]‘Draft grade’s’ immediately after the draft are worthless and always have been.  The [BLEEP] guys haven’t even played a pro snap.

This. Draft "grades" should really be "draft impressions". Rarely do draft grades reflect the picture of the draft class 3 or 4 years down the line.

(05-01-2023, 08:26 AM)MarleyJag Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-01-2023, 08:18 AM)RicoTx Wrote: [ -> ]‘Draft grade’s’ immediately after the draft are worthless and always have been.  The [BLEEP] guys haven’t even played a pro snap.

This. Draft "grades" should really be "draft impressions". Rarely do draft grades reflect the picture of the draft class 3 or 4 years down the line.

Yes

That's indeed what they are.
Impressions. 

Too soon to know. 

We're still waiting to know if we got it right with Lloyd and Walker.

Overall, I give the draft a C.

It was an average draft. Nothing really exciting, with one or two headscratchers. No major [BLEEP] picks like Bryan Anger in the third round. To me, that looks about average. We won't know how the players will do until we see them on the field. But I feel like taking an RB in the third doesn't add a lot of value to our team. But we'll see. Like the Antonio Johnson pick. And it's nice to see us get some protection for T-Law. Would've probably been a B from me if they had waited to draft an RB a bit later.

I thought going in that the players between 40 and 90 were of like talent. Baalke seemed to think that the players from 36 to 300 were of like talent. I give this grade a D+, it's only saving grace is the first round pick. Value by position and selection were abysmal for almost every pick after the 1st round.

B. I’m hoping for the best.