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The draft was a few weeks ago and 2017 rookie minicamp is over — how are NFL executives around the league feeling about the Jacksonville Jaguars’ draft class?
ESPN’s Mike Sando talked to executives and evaluators all over the NFL to get thoughts on all 32 teams’ draft classes and here is what they had to say about the Jaguars.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Leonard Fournette was not the consensus No. 1 back in the draft. Some preferred the versatility of Christian McCaffrey. Others liked Dalvin Cook. There was still no denying the Jaguars got the power back they wanted.
"Getting a two-down player in the top five is rich, but for what they are going to do and with [Doug] Marrone taking over, I think Fournette fits the mold," an evaluator said. "They will be more of an old-school style, and I think that [Tom] Coughlin views him as their Brandon Jacobs-type player.”
Some evaluators question Fournette's ability to create when blocking breaks down. That blocking could improve with second-round pick Cam Robinson on the roster.
"Cam Robinson is a lock starting tackle in the NFL," an evaluator said. "He can potentially be a 10-year guy. I thought Jacksonville got great, great value with him. Him plus Fournette is kind of a big deal."
First off — Brandon Jacobs? If you’re picking a running back in the top-five, he better be a lot better than Brandon Jacobs, who never ran for more than 1,089 yards in a season and averaged just over 10 carries a game in his nine-year career. Jacobs peaked in 2008 with 15 rushing touchdowns, but he wasn’t the bell-cow back that the Jaguars (hopefully) see Fournette as, getting 200 or more touches in a season just three times.
Jacobs was effective for what he was, but his window was too small to justify so high a pick.
Second — I like getting Robinson in the second round. And I think that pick will get more and more important as the seasons wear on. The Jaguars have been without a cornerstone left tackle for a long time and even though that position isn’t as important as it once was, it’ll be nice to not have to go through the same old song and dance every offseason.