Robert Nkemdiche worth the risk for the Jacksonville Jaguars?

The 2016 NFL Draft is less than a month away and we’ve talked ad nauseum about the top prospects the Jacksonville Jaguars could take with the 5th overall pick. The field appears to have narrowed to 3 players – Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey, Ohio State defensive end Joey Bosa, and UCLA linebacker Myles Jack. The clear favorite now might be Jack, but I would be a little surprised if one of those 3 aren’t the guy come April 28th.

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Despite this strong conviction of who the top prospects are, we still find the time to overanalyze things. One of those is prospect visits to team sites.

The Jaguars have been known to host a number of the top draft prospects every year and some of the players coming in are genuinely confusing. One of those is a player who might have the most volatile draft stock of the entire crop – Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche. He was part of a large contingent visiting Jacksonville on Wednesday.

"Wednesday’s list of Jacksonville visitors includes Ole Miss star offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil and defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche, Clemson safety Jayron Kearse, Alabama center Ryan Kelly and Oregon defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport. Ohio State safety Vonn Bell, Georgia linebacker Leonard Floyd, Maryland defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and Eastern Kentucky defensive end Noah Spence were also were a part of the cavalcade of prospects to visit Jacksonville, according to the team."

There’s a lot of names on there, mostly defensive players, but Nkemdiche is one that sticks out. There’s almost no chance of him being a top 10 pick at this point and he might fall out of the first round all together. Pro Football Focus has this exact thing happen in their latest 3-round mock draft, and they sent Nkemdiche to Jacksonville.

"38. Jacksonville Jaguars – Robert Nkemdiche, DT, Ole Miss"

"Another wild card in the draft, Nkemdiche struggles against power in the running game, but may be effective playing as an early-down defensive end. He’s explosive off the ball as a pass rusher and he adds yet another movable chess piece on the revamped Jacksonville defensive front."

Nkemdiche was once considered a favorite for the number 1 overall pick, but he’s (pun intended) tumbled down draft boards every since he fell out of a window in a synthetic marijuana-induced stupor. He has reportedly been less than stellar in pre-draft interviews and character concerns so far are trumping his incredibly impressive physical traits.

So, is it worth it for the Jaguars to take someone as talented as Nkemdiche in the 2nd round? I say no.

The team just invested an enormous amount of money into Malik Jackson and Nkemdiche is redundant. He would certainly provide depth, but it’s a luxury the Jaguars can’t afford with so many other needs. And even though it’s somewhat silly to let the sins of a previous regime slant your views, it’s hard to sell a high-profile pick to a fanbase coming off one of the most disastrous first round busts in Justin Blackmon.