Seeing as they played their first season in 1995, the Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the newest teams in the NFL, relatively speaking. As a result, the Jaguars don't have the expansive draft history that teams like the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers do.
Nonetheless, the franchise still has a wealth of draft picks in their two-plus decades. Both good and bad, the draft, like for most teams, has been hit and miss. With that being said, which draft picks are the best in Jaguars history?
5. Josh Allen
Yep. I'm putting a player on this list after just one season. After several misses with their top picks in the last ten years, the Jaguars seemed to hit an absolute grand slam when they selected Kentucky edge rusher, Josh Allen, with the seventh overall pick in 2019.
Despite only starting four of 16 games last season, the 6-foot-5, 262-pound pass-rush specialist was an absolute menace to opposing quarterbacks and recorded a team-high 10.5 sacks. Allen was a Pro Bowler in only his first year and while it may seem nonsensical to put him on this list after one year, I'm willing to bet he'll end up much higher on the list when it's all said and done.
4. Tony Brackens
An imposing 6-foot-4, 267-pound defensive end out of the University of Texas, Brackens was selected by the Jaguars in the second round (33rd overall) in 1996. Like Allen, Brackens immediately became an impact player on defense recording 55 tackles, seven sacks and a league-best five forced fumbles as a rookie.
Brackens only ended up playing eight years in the league and only made one Pro Bowl but his 55 sacks put him atop the franchise's career sacks list and his ability to force fumbles helped the Jaguars defense mightily in their early days.
3. Maurice Jones-Drew
One of the best running backs in the league during hs prime, Jones-Drew was selected by Jacksonville in the second round (60th overall) in the 2006 draft. Jones-Drew came out as a rookie and recorded 941 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns and didn't look back after that.
His compact 5-foot-7, 210-pound frame made him elusive and hard to bring down and in a three-year span from 2009 to 2011, the UCLA product racked up an impressive 5,386 yards from scrimmage and 34 total touchdowns.
He has three Pro Bowls to his name and one first-team All-Pro selection to his name as well as leading the NFL in rushing during the 2011 season.
2. Fred Taylor
Before Jones-Drew, Fred Taylor was Jacksonville's star running back. After a strong senior season at the University of Florida and an impressive 6-foot-1, 228-pound frame, the Jaguars selected Taylor with the ninth overall pick in the 1998 draft.
Like many others on this list, it didn't take long for Taylor to separate himself as a star and by the turn of the century, Taylor had already recorded almost 2,000 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns.
Despite only making one Pro Bowl, Taylor surpassed 1,000 rushing yards seven times in 11 years in Jacksonville and his 11,271 rushing yards is over 3,000 more than anyone else in franchise history.
1. Tony Boselli
The first draft pick in team history also happens to be its best one. A top offensive line prospect out of USC, Boselli was drafted with the second overall pick in 1995.
Injuries kept him from enjoying a long career but in his eight seasons with the Jaguars, Boselli was arguably the top offensive tackle in football.
The 6-foot-7, 324-pound tackle was selected to three-straight first-team All-Pro teams in the late 90s and his five Pro Bowl selections tie Jimmy Smith for the most in Jacksonville history.
Follow Us
Subscribe