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The Super Bowl is over. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are world champions. Free agency and the 2021 NFL Draft are right around the corner.
It’s time for the Jacksonville Jaguars to shine, folks.
ESPN had all their team reporters re-draft the first two rounds — all 64 picks — and asked them to explain their reasoning, especially in the instances when they went away from what the teams they cover had done. The order that follows is from when the draft began last April. That means no trades allowed, with teams picking in their original spots throughout all 64 spots.
Let’s get to Michael DiRocco’s picks.
9. Jacksonville Jaguars
Original pick: CJ Henderson, CB
New pick: Justin Jefferson, WR
The Jaguars’ QB play wasn’t great, but adding Jefferson to a group that already included DJ Chark Jr. and Keelan Cole Sr. would have certainly helped make things easier. Now the Jaguars have bookend receivers for Trevor Lawrence in 2021 and beyond.
20. Jacksonville Jaguars (from LAR)
Original pick: K’Lavon Chaisson, LB
New pick: Jaylon Johnson, CB
The Jaguars needed an upgrade at corner after trading Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye, and ESPN analyst Matt Bowen called Johnson the best rookie corner in 2020. Like all rookie corners he struggled at times, but his 15 pass breakups were tied for second in the NFL.
42. Jacksonville Jaguars
Original pick: Laviska Shenault Jr., WR
New pick: Julian Blackmon, S
The Jaguars needed an upgrade at various spots in the secondary and Blackmon would have given the Jaguars something they don’t have back there: a playmaker. He started 14 games for the Colts and had two picks, six pass breakups, 42 total tackles and a forced fumble.
Some thoughts on these picks.
Justin Jefferson is a no-brainer at No. 9 overall and I’m surprised the Arizona Cardinals reporter took CeeDee Lamb over him. But, hey, I’m not going to complain about a receivers room that includes DJ Chark and Justin Jefferson.
Jaylon Johnson would solve a myriad of problems the Jaguars have this offseason. They need a star at outside cornerback badly. If they had picked Johnson last year, they likely wouldn’t have to use one of their picks in the first two rounds this year on one.
Julian Blackmon would also be really nice to have at this point — our secondary would be leagues better with Jaylon Johnson and Julian Blackmon over CJ Henderson and Josh Jones, and it would allow us to go all in on upgrading the defensive line this offseason instead of spreading ourselves thin over the course of the next two years fixing the mess Dave Caldwell created. Also, Laviska Shenault was already off the board, so don’t get angry at Mike for not picking him here. (I got angry at Mike the first time I read this re-draft.)