First-Round Jacksonville Jaguars 2017 Mock Draft 1.0 – Four Weeks Out
By Jacob DeFee
The 2017 NFL Draft is four weeks away and there is still no consensus as to what the Jacksonville Jaguars will do with the number four pick.
Many analysts tend to mock Louisiana State running back Leonard Fournette to the Jacksonville Jaguars. But others have been mocking everyone from Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson to Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen and everything in between. Fournette seems to be the most popular choice, and it makes sense considering Tom Coughlin’s commitment to the running game.
Even though Fournette looks like a rare talent at the position, the 2017 running back class looks incredibly deep and teams can still get excellent talent at the position outside of the first round. While possible, the wise move to be to not expect the Jaguars to take a running back at number four overall.
It has also become increasingly popular to send a first-round quarterback to the Jaguars, as B&T’s Daniel Lago has noted. While not opposed to the Jaguars drafting a quarterback to help push incumbent starter Blake Bortles, they will not be selecting one in the first round, and even if they did it will not be Deshaun Watson. The biggest knocks on Watson are his lack of arm strength and his throwing accuracy. Those sound like similar traits to the Jags’ current starting quarterback coming out of college. If the Jaguars do indeed take a quarterback in this draft they won’t take one with the same limitations as they just did three short years ago.
This leaves the Jaguars in a particularly difficult spot with the number four pick. General manager David Caldwell and the Jaguars are always open to a trade down to collect more picks but that doesn’t seem likely.
The Jags already look to have a stacked defense, with starters in place at every position, so what will they do with their first pick?