20 Sundays until the start of the 103rd NFL season. In the “topic of the week” TOUCHDOWN24 deals with current events in the National Football League. Today: What are the Jacksonville Jaguars doing with the 1st overall pick?
Only a few days until the NFL Draft 2022. The tension is rising, the speculation regarding the “Super Bowl of the offseason” is rising. Right in the middle the question: What are the Jacksonville Jaguars doing with their 1st overall pick right? Usually this question is easy to answer. The team with the first pick chooses a quarterback or trades the spot for another team to pick a quarterback. Of course there are also the exceptions. Since 2009, offensive tackle Eric Fisher (2013, Kansas City Chiefs), Jadeveon Clowney (2014, Houston Texans) and Myles Garrett (2017, Cleveland Browns) have also been selected at number one.
However, the Jaguars and above all General Manager Trent Baalke are facing a difficult task. According to the general mood, not only is there no top quarterback in this draft, the absolute top is also missing in many other positions. This not only makes your own selection more difficult, but also reduces the interest of other teams to invest a lot in order to get to the first spot. Having said that, with Trevor Lawrence on the roster, of course there’s no self-interest in a quarterback. So: what to do?
Annnnnd… GO ???? pic.twitter.com/YAoRvYdVmP
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) April 21, 2022
If you believe the rumor mill in North Florida, then the Jaguars are looking for a trade partner. The fact that no execution has yet been reported also shows that the interest of other teams is at least limited. Of course, a lot can still happen on draft day, but if a team really wanted to get to one, they wouldn’t run the risk of another team interfering. So the trend is presumably that the Jaguars will exercise their first right to a pick themselves. But who do you get then?
Of course, the Cincinnati Bengals are a good role model here, as they have consistently invested their draft resources in such a way that the still young quarterback Joe Burrow has the best prerequisites to shine in his offense. A Trevor Lawrence will look enviously at Ohio. But which wide receiver is so compelling that it would justify a 1st overall pick? USC Trojans’ Drake London or Alabama’s Jameson Williams? Rather no.
Hutchinson, Stingley or an offensive tackle
According to most big boards and mock drafts, Aiden Hutchinson will be the first to go off the board. The pass rusher of the Michigan Wolverines logically plays on defense and is not an absolute must-have compared to Myles Garrett from 2017, for example. If you go by positional value, Hutchinson would still be justifiable, if you go by elite prospects in their positions, then you would have to look in the direction of Kyle Hamilton (safety, Notre Dame) or Derek Stingley Jr. (cornerback, LSU). With safety draft ratings declining noticeably in recent years, Stingley might be the best choice. NFL history alone speaks once morest Stingley Jr.—a cornerback has not been picked at first position since the first draft in 1936.
However, considering all aspects of investing the Bengals’ role model with a young top quarterback on offense, positional value and the prospects available who can quickly reach elite level, then the Jaguars’ choice really has to be offensive tackles Charles Cross (Mississippi State) or Ikem Ekwonu (NC State), depending on the preference of the front office. Bet it turns out differently?
