The NFL Combine is coming up. Who do you think are some future Jaguar players? Who are you interested in?

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Jackson Powers-Johnson, Center, Oregon.

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On Offense:
Jackson Powers-Johnson - C - Oregon
Zach Frazier - C - West Virginia
Andrew Raym - C - Oklahoma
Christian Mahogany - OG - Boston College
Christian Haynes - OG - Connecticut
Zak Zinter - OG - Michigan
Javion Cohen - OG - Miami (FL)
Anthony Gould - WR - Oregon State
Brian Thomas Jr - WR - LSU
Hayden Hatten - WR - Idaho
Xavier Legette - WR - South Carolina
Johnny Wilson - WR - Florida State
Joe Milton III - QB - Tennessee
Sam Hartman - QB - Notre Dame
Spencer Rattler - QB - South Carolina

On Defense:
Jer'Zhan Newton - DT - Illinois
T.J Tampa - CB - Iowa State
T'Vondre Sweat - DT - Texas
Braden Fiske - DT - Florida State
Khyree Jackson - CB - Oregon
Javon Solomon - EDGE - Troy
Mohamed Kamara - EDGE - Colorada State
Gabe Taylor - DT - Baylor
Gabriel Murphy - EDGE - UCLA
Malik Mustapha - S - Wake Forest

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Jackson Powers-Johnson, Center, Oregon.

That’s a name I’ve heard a few times. At pick 17 I’m getting all the value I can.

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On Offense:
Jackson Powers-Johnson - C - Oregon
Zach Frazier - C - West Virginia
Andrew Raym - C - Oklahoma
Christian Mahogany - OG - Boston College
Christian Haynes - OG - Connecticut
Zak Zinter - OG - Michigan
Javion Cohen - OG - Miami (FL)
Anthony Gould - WR - Oregon State
Brian Thomas Jr - WR - LSU
Hayden Hatten - WR - Idaho
Xavier Legette - WR - South Carolina
Johnny Wilson - WR - Florida State
Joe Milton III - QB - Tennessee
Sam Hartman - QB - Notre Dame
Spencer Rattler - QB - South Carolina

On Defense:
Jer'Zhan Newton - DT - Illinois
T.J Tampa - CB - Iowa State
T'Vondre Sweat - DT - Texas
Braden Fiske - DT - Florida State
Khyree Jackson - CB - Oregon
Javon Solomon - EDGE - Troy
Mohamed Kamara - EDGE - Colorada State
Gabe Taylor - DT - Baylor
Gabriel Murphy - EDGE - UCLA
Malik Mustapha - S - Wake Forest

Nice list of players to watch in Indy this week. Another guy I'm anxious to see is Marshawn Kneeland. He did very well in Mobile and might be someone the Jaguars could add with one of their 4th round picks. He's not the most athletic Edge, but has a very high motor and is a good bull rusher.

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My only problem with drafting a center at pick #17 is the positional value.  There have only been 8 first-round centers picked since 2000, and JPJ would be the highest draft pick used on a center, other than Mike Pouncey (Dolphins 2011) at #15 in that timeframe.  The good news is that the success rate seems to be high with multiple pro-bowl selections amongst those 8, but that makes sense in the fact that your choosing the #1 rated center with any first round pick.

So according to NFL logic, [doing math] you'd only draft JPJ if he is so dominant at that position that he's the number 1 center in 3 years.

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Josh Allen
Calvin Ridley
Lloyd Cushenberry
Robert Hunt
Kevin Dotson
Kevin Zeitler
Tyler Biadasz
Bryce Huff
Jaylon Johnson
Antoine Winfield, Jr.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

My only problem with drafting a center at pick #17 is the positional value.  There have only been 8 first-round centers picked since 2000, and JPJ would be the highest draft pick used on a center, other than Mike Pouncey (Dolphins 2011) at #15 in that timeframe.  The good news is that the success rate seems to be high with multiple pro-bowl selections amongst those 8, but that makes sense in the fact that your choosing the #1 rated center with any first round pick.

So according to NFL logic, [doing math] you'd only draft JPJ if he is so dominant at that position that he's the number 1 center in 3 years.

Yeah. I cited my opinion on this decision in the college forum. I think JPJ has to test off the charts this Sunday. His RAS probably needs to grade out nothing short of an 8.3 or better. He looks good on film, now you're just kind of hoping the measurements, the strength, the footwork, etc. All of that matches up with the player we see on film.

The other thing they could do, is, maybe sign a veteran free agent at Center that's clearly better than Fortner as it stands today. Maybe on a 2, 3 year deal with some easy outs, and then you make the decision to draft JPJ with the intent of playing him at LG or RG as a rookie. This is nothing new for this staff and football team. 

They've been doing it for awhile now. Fortner was predominately a guard at Kentucky and a one year starter at Center. You look at how they've tried different things with Walker Little. So, again, you can always find a way to justify a player's selection by manipulating the position they'll play and by projecting their long term worth. 

We did the same thing with Brandon Linder over time when we took him out of Miami years ago. It worked out play wise. Unfortunately he could just never physically hold up with his durability.

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Josh Allen
Calvin Ridley
Lloyd Cushenberry
Robert Hunt
Kevin Dotson
Kevin Zeitler
Tyler Biadasz
Bryce Huff
Jaylon Johnson
Antoine Winfield, Jr.

Classic. When you read the title and bypass the context of the post. Well played. Fairly played. From your list though I like the two obvious choices. Allen and Ridley. I like Hunt at Guard. Biadasz at Center. Winfield Jr. at Safety. Those would be three really good additions.

I also would add from free agency Christian Wilkins or Leonard Williams as a bit of a big spending pick-up and then see if I can get Calais Campbell down here again for another year as a rotational piece or big end role player to help Allen or Walker out with freeing them up more.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Josh Allen
Calvin Ridley
Lloyd Cushenberry
Robert Hunt
Kevin Dotson
Kevin Zeitler
Tyler Biadasz
Bryce Huff
Jaylon Johnson
Antoine Winfield, Jr.

My choices from your list would be:

Josh Allen: Pay the guy this year. He's the team's best player and deserves the big payday.

Calvin Ridley: My preference would be to pay Allen and tag Ridley, unless he is willing to agree to a team-friendly deal with added incentives for performance. This team has greater needs in other areas and Ridley should put up bigger numbers next season.

Lloyd Cushenberry: Probably the best Center in free agency who won't cost a fortune. Still young and improving.

Kevin Dotson: He'd be my number 1 guard target along with Damien Lewis. Lewis would be less expensive, but neither will break the bank.

Bryce Huff: He's an interesting option due to need for a pass rusher. Definitely a one-trick pony, but his 10 sacks last season would make him a solid addition.


One other player I'd really like to pursue is DaQuan Jones. At 32 years of age and not a penetrator who gets sacks, he'd also be very affordable. His value to the Jaguars would be great since he is an excellent run-stopper who often requires 2 blockers. He should be effective for at least a couple more years and the Jaguars could still draft someone like McKinley Jackson in round 3 or 4 to eventually take over that role.

I don't believe Jaylon Johnson will be made available and he would also be very expensive. The draft class is very deep at cornerback and the Jaguars should take one on day 1 or 2.

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My only problem with drafting a center at pick #17 is the positional value.  There have only been 8 first-round centers picked since 2000, and JPJ would be the highest draft pick used on a center, other than Mike Pouncey (Dolphins 2011) at #15 in that timeframe.  The good news is that the success rate seems to be high with multiple pro-bowl selections amongst those 8, but that makes sense in the fact that your choosing the #1 rated center with any first round pick.

So according to NFL logic, [doing math] you'd only draft JPJ if he is so dominant at that position that he's the number 1 center in 3 years.

Yeah. I cited my opinion on this decision in the college forum. I think JPJ has to test off the charts this Sunday. His RAS probably needs to grade out nothing short of an 8.3 or better. He looks good on film, now you're just kind of hoping the measurements, the strength, the footwork, etc. All of that matches up with the player we see on film.

The other thing they could do, is, maybe sign a veteran free agent at Center that's clearly better than Fortner as it stands today. Maybe on a 2, 3 year deal with some easy outs, and then you make the decision to draft JPJ with the intent of playing him at LG or RG as a rookie. This is nothing new for this staff and football team. 

They've been doing it for awhile now. Fortner was predominately a guard at Kentucky and a one year starter at Center. You look at how they've tried different things with Walker Little. So, again, you can always find a way to justify a player's selection by manipulating the position they'll play and by projecting their long term worth. 

We did the same thing with Brandon Linder over time when we took him out of Miami years ago. It worked out play wise. Unfortunately he could just never physically hold up with his durability.

As a Texans fan this rings my panic bell a little bit.  Several Texans GMs kept drafting OL guys that they planned on starting at positions they hadn't played in college, and on several occasions they just weren't as good at the new "projected" position.  It reminds me of the "we're going to start our best 5 lineman" approach, the problem is that your 3rd best OL player whose at tackle may not be your best guard.  The individual positions themselves require a unique skill set, some OL can be shifted and some just can't, assuming they can--without having seen it--just adds one more unknown to the draft lottery.

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Yeah. I cited my opinion on this decision in the college forum. I think JPJ has to test off the charts this Sunday. His RAS probably needs to grade out nothing short of an 8.3 or better. He looks good on film, now you're just kind of hoping the measurements, the strength, the footwork, etc. All of that matches up with the player we see on film.

The other thing they could do, is, maybe sign a veteran free agent at Center that's clearly better than Fortner as it stands today. Maybe on a 2, 3 year deal with some easy outs, and then you make the decision to draft JPJ with the intent of playing him at LG or RG as a rookie. This is nothing new for this staff and football team. 

They've been doing it for awhile now. Fortner was predominately a guard at Kentucky and a one year starter at Center. You look at how they've tried different things with Walker Little. So, again, you can always find a way to justify a player's selection by manipulating the position they'll play and by projecting their long term worth. 

We did the same thing with Brandon Linder over time when we took him out of Miami years ago. It worked out play wise. Unfortunately he could just never physically hold up with his durability.

As a Texans fan this rings my panic bell a little bit.  Several Texans GMs kept drafting OL guys that they planned on starting at positions they hadn't played in college, and on several occasions they just weren't as good at the new "projected" position.  It reminds me of the "we're going to start our best 5 lineman" approach, the problem is that your 3rd best OL player whose at tackle may not be your best guard.  The individual positions themselves require a unique skill set, some OL can be shifted and some just can't, assuming they can--without having seen it--just adds one more unknown to the draft lottery.

Agreed. It's a big risk. Sometimes it pans out. Sometimes it fails. I could see us having to do that in a few scenarios this off season. It just depends on what they're fixing to do here shortly in March. 

There's some people here locally that think they could opt to move on from Cam Robinson this off season, move Anton Harrison to LT and make Walker Little play RT. There's some people here that also think within that same scenario, that, Fortner is still the starting Center and they add a pair of new guards to support him instead.

A lot of ways to mix and match but it's just speculation in the off season. Again, free agency will provide a better picture of how they view things and what they want to do. I can tell you though, that, if they don't end up signing at least a starting caliber Center, a prominent Defensive Tackle and a Left or Right guard?

They're really playing with fire by trying to backfill all of that in the draft instead and leaving it up to a game of chance. Or, even worse, assuming that they already have their answers on the roster and thus double dipping on complacency once again for the second off season in a row.

Complacency kills.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

Byron Murphy- DT Texas
Jackson Powers-Johnson -C Oregon

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Byron Murphy- DT Texas
Jackson Powers-Johnson -C Oregon

Bro I wish both were Jaguars

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The Athletic mentioned Danielle Hunter again as a potential target for the Jaguars. The article mentioned Jacksonville, Arizona and Chicago as potential targets with Hunter most likely to prefer the Jaguars due to potential playoff opportunity. The reason given is that Baalke will feel the pressure to win this year and Hunter could make that happen. He is likely to make about $25 million per year, but it is mentioned that the team could afford this by "creatively" structuring the contract to fit their timeline.

While signing Hunter would bring much excitement to our fanbase, I'd likely pass. They need to make Josh Allen a priority and could add less expensive Edge rushers like Bryce Huff. Adding to the interior pass rush via the draft (Newton or Murphy) is another more affordable way to increase pressure placed on opposing quarterbacks.

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I agree. Seems counterproductive at this point. You have Allen coming off a career year, defensive MVP caliber worthy statistically if we're being fair. Right up there with Garrett and Watt in 2023. You also had Walker ascend in the right direction as a pass rusher with him turning up late with 6.5 sacks as the season progressed.

Hunter wouldn't fix the issues we have on this defense. It's the interior that needs work. I would be more inclined to see them pursue a guy like Wilkins or Madubuike. They could maybe stretch their dollars more by going after a pair of veterans instead that's more cost effective. Maybe a combination of Cox and Reader. Maybe a combination of Campbell and Wilkins or Madubuike, etc.

Hunter just seems like he'd be overcrowding a position on the roster with two capable pass rushers already off the edge. Allocate that money towards addressing the interior woes on BOTH sides of the football.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

I agree. Seems counterproductive at this point. You have Allen coming off a career year, defensive MVP caliber worthy statistically if we're being fair. Right up there with Garrett and Watt in 2023. You also had Walker ascend in the right direction as a pass rusher with him turning up late with 6.5 sacks as the season progressed.

Hunter wouldn't fix the issues we have on this defense. It's the interior that needs work. I would be more inclined to see them pursue a guy like Wilkins or Madubuike. They could maybe stretch their dollars more by going after a pair of veterans instead that's more cost effective. Maybe a combination of Cox and Reader. Maybe a combination of Campbell and Wilkins or Madubuike, etc.

Hunter just seems like he'd be overcrowding a position on the roster with two capable pass rushers already off the edge. Allocate that money towards addressing the interior woes on BOTH sides of the football.

Rumors are that Wilkins and Madulbulke will both be tagged if not given long term deals. Right now, my preference would be for the Jags to sign DaQuan Jones, who will be reasonably priced for an excellent run stuffer and then draft either Newton or Murphy in round 1. The combination of Jones and either of these rookies would greatly improve the interior pass rush. If Hamilton returns to 100%, he'd be another important player in the DL rotation. Right now, my guess is that the Jaguars target a cornerback in round 1 who excels at man coverage. This could be Wiggins, Arnold, DeJean, McKinstry or Mitchell who are all closely rated. While all these players would be good options, the Jaguars would maximize value by taking one of the DT in round 1 and getting their corner in round 2. T.J. Tampa, Rakestraw and Khyree Jackson would all fit the scheme that Nielson liked to use in Atlanta. Tampa and Rakestraw also have the height to cover taller receivers.

Baalke and Pederson gave the impression today that they will be keeping Cam Robinson. While they would like to re-structure his deal as well as others like Oluakun and Darious Williams, to name just two, I don't see them going after high priced free agents from other teams since they will likely be paying Allen, Ridley and Ezra Cleveland, although Allen or Ridley will likely be tagged.

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