The Jacksonville Jaguars have been busy this offseason. They had the most cap space available, more 2021 NFL Draft picks than anyone else, and hired Urban Meyer as their new head coach. It's safe to say, the future is looking bright in Jacksonville.
Taking Trevor Lawrence first overall means the Jaguars won the draft at the get-go. Lawrence has been viewed as a top prospect since his first year at Clemson. He now has the opportunity to show off his skills at the professional level. Jacksonville made some smart selections throughout the draft. Tyson Campbell is a solid cornerback who has the potential to be a legitimate starter in the league. They also improved the offensive line after taking Walker Little and stacked their defense after selecting Andre Cisco, Jay Tufele, and Jordan Smith in rounds 3-4.
However, not everything was perfect for the Jaguars organization. They made a head-scratching decision early in the draft, then punted on a position of need. Jacksonville's future is bright, but they're young and have a lot of development work to do. The roster is still not complete, which they could have accomplished had the front office not made 2 drastic mistakes. Here are 2 mistakes the Jaguars made in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Jaguars drafting Travis Etienne
Selecting Travis Etienne felt like the Jaguars were just trying to make their new rookie quarterback happy. Don't get me wrong, Etienne is a fantastic running back prospect who can do it all. He's going to be utilized in the Jaguars offense early and often and he has chemistry with the quarterback already.
What made Etienne a mistake was the Jaguars used a first-round pick on a running back when they already had a solid running back on the roster. James Robinson came out of nowhere as an undrafted free agent, totaling 1,414 scrimmage yards and 10 total touchdowns on the year. With a versatile weapon like that already in the backfield, the front office could have taken a top defensive prospect with their additional first-round selection.
Waiting until round 5 to draft a tight end
Tight end is by far the weakest position on Jacksonville's offense. The team has done next to nothing to address the dire need of the position. Luke Farrell is more known as a blocker than he is a pass-catcher, and the team is having Tim Tebow try out for a role on the team. Chris Manhertz and James O'Shaughnessy are the other two tight ends on the roster, and neither of them is a stellar pass catcher.
With tight ends becoming more utilized in the NFL these days, the Jaguars are going to find themselves behind in that category. Their tight ends likely won't factor into the offensive scheme at all, and will mainly be used as extra blockers. It might work out as a way to create running lanes and protection Lawrence, but opposing teams already know that the Jaguars' tight ends won't be a threat on the field. Unless the front office makes a surprising trade to upgrade the position, don't set your expectations high for this tight-end group.
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