Why the Jaguars should not draft Vernon Hargreaves III

Like we wrote about with DeForest Buckner last week, this post is designed to argue against the stance that the Jacksonville Jaguars should consider selecting Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III with the No. 5 overall pick. This is not making a case against Hargreaves as a player, but more so against Hargreaves and his fit with the Jaguars current roster.

It seems like the real argument that people make in favor of drafting Hargreaves is that, if Joey Bosa, Myles Jack, and Jalen Ramsey are off the board, then he is the best player available left on the board and should be the pick.

Well, that doesn't make much sense. And here is why.

Best player available is trumped by most impactful player available

I wrote here on why the Jaguars should be short-sighted when drafting this year, and there is no pick in the entire 2016 NFL Draft that should be looked at in this manner more than the Jaguars first pick.

With the Jaguars in a must-win situation, they need to pick the player that they think will not only be the best player moving forward but also the most impactful player this year. This means they need to take heavy stock in positional value and how the rest of the roster affects the draft.

In regards to Hargreaves, the roster is simply not set up for him to make a large impact in 2016. At least not a large enough one to warrant the No. 5 overall pick over somebody like Shaq Lawson.

Hargreaves would not start over either Davon House or Prince Amukamara. They are established NFL talents who the team has invested in for the time being. He could compete with Aaron Colvin as the team's No. 3 cornerback and slot corner, but the team is clearly very high on Colvin and picking a slot corner with the No. 5 pick to begin with would be... bad.

You can make the point that Amukamara has an injury history and that Hargreaves could be insurance for when he goes down. And that is a fair point, but the Jaguars are in no way in any position to make an "Insurance pick" with a top-five pick. That is something that teams who consistently pick later in the first round such as the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots do. You do not do that with the fifth pick.

You can also make the argument that Amukamara is on a one-year deal and that Hargreaves could replace him in 2017. But 2017 is not something that the Jaguars brass should be thinking about. They signed Amukamara because they need to win now. And if he plays well, and if they win, it is likely that he would get another contract with the team.

Last year, Dave Caldwell said that the team did not draft Leonard Williams because, while he was a good player, they had just signed Jared Odrick to play his position. Williams did not make sense from a value or needs standpoint. Hargreaves is the same way.

Hargreaves is a talented player but he simply does not make sense as the fifth overall pick. Even if they traded down, which is both difficult to do and unlikely, it would be a hard pick to justify.

Cornerback is still a need for the team. But it is not a glaring hole that should be addressed with a first round pick.