2021 NFL mock draft: John Shipley of Jaguar Report thinks Jacksonville Jaguars pick Justin Fields and Jaycee Horn in first round

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a lot of needs on both sides of the ball going into the 2021 NFL Draft.

With two picks in next year’s draft, Jacksonville can hit the reset button on the most important position in professional sports...

And that’s exactly what Jaguar Report thinks they’re going to do.

John Shipley just posted his latest 2021 mock draft and he went through the entire first round with an eye on quarterback and cornerback for the Jaguars.

Round 1, Pick 2: Ohio State QB Justin Fields

Does there really need to be a bunch of statistical analysis here? Gardner Minshew is clearly the best quarterback on the roster and... that’s not a good thing. He flashed his rookie season but he has clearly regressed in 2020. Mike Glennon played significant time under center. These guys started whatever a Jake Luton is for three games this season. Go get a franchise quarterback, Jacksonville.

There isn’t a more obvious pick that can be made here. The only other player in consideration was BYU QB Zach Wilson, and even he wasn’t that close to being the pick. Justin Fields is pro-ready with a massive upside and has the traits to be the franchise quarterback the Jaguars have been looking for since Mark Brunell. Fields isn’t perfect, but he is arguably as good as a prospect as Tua Tagovailoa — if not better.

Whatever it takes, Jacksonville.

Round 1, Pick 22: South Carolina CB Jaycee Horn

Jacksonville currently ranks 28th in the league allowing 273.4 passing yards per game. That’s with the team ranking even worse in run defense — 30th in the league with 145.5 rushing yards allowed per game. Teams are choosing to pass against this secondary despite the fact they can run at will.

Not good, folks.

The hope of Kyle Pitts dropping to Jacksonville’s second pick erodes a bit more each Sunday as the Los Angeles Rams continue to look like one of the NFL’s best teams. Jacksonville only got the No. 20 pick out of the Rams for Jalen Ramsey last season, turning it into K’Lavon Chaisson. In this scenario, they get the No. 26 pick and pass on offensive line help for a No. 2 cornerback across from CJ Henderson. If the Jaguars want to bring back Sidney Jones they can still do that since Horn has the traits to play slot cornerback just as well as he plays boundary cornerback. Few secondaries have been picked apart as much as Jacksonville’s in 2020, so some more high-caliber talent is needed in the backend of the defense.

Stay tuned for mock drafts from Day 2 as the Jaguars have plenty of picks in the later rounds too.

Summary

What do you think? Would you be happy with this haul in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft for Jacksonville? Let us know in the comments below!