Jacksonville Jaguars Miss Out on Leonard Williams in Post-Combine Mock Draft
By Daniel Lago
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The NFL Draft machine is in full swing, as the NFL combine is now in the rearview mirror. Jacksonville Jaguars general manager
David Caldwellhas been tight-lipped as usual, but the consensus among analysts is the Jaguars will target a defensive lineman with the third overall pick in the draft.
Almost every mock draft has the Jaguars selecting USC defensive lineman Leonard Williams if he is available with the third pick. A handful of mock drafts have the Tennessee Titans selecting Williams with the second overall pick, making the Jaguars situation at number 3 overall significantly more interesting.
In his post-combine mock draft for FanSided, Luke Dahlgren has that exact situation playing out. He has the Jaguars going with edge rusher Randy Gregory out of Nebraska.
"3. RANDY GREGORY DE, Nebraska"
"This pick is simply the result of choosing the best player available. Gregory would provide the Jaguars with elite athleticism and a high quality edge pass rush. He has a varied repertoire of edge pass rushing moves, and while he does need to add strength he was still an effective bull rusher at Nebraska.The Jaguars will stick with Blake Bortles for the second straight season, and adding an offensive tackle would allow Bortles to effectively go through his progressions, so Iowa’s Brandon Scherff is an outside possibility here. The Jaguars also need a running back, but will likely wait until round 2 at the earliest, maybe going with Gregory’s Nebraska teammate Ameer Abdullah."
Luke tabs Gregory as the best available player in this scenario, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Jaguars feel the same way. The debate over who the top edge rusher in the draft is will likely come down to the wire, with guys like Gregory, Dante Fowler Jr., Vic Beasley, and Shane Ray all presenting some upside. Our own Terry O’Brien made the case for Vic Beasley after his monster combine performance. This is all likely moot if the Jaguars see Leonard Williams at number 3, but it’ll be a tense few minutes waiting for the Jaguars selection if he is gone.