Jacksonville Jaguars 2018 NFL Draft: Trading out of the 1st round in a recent mock draft

One option the Jacksonville Jaguars have at the end of the first round is to trade out of it – which is what they do in a recent mock draft.

Selecting 29th overall, the Jacksonville Jaguars are in unfamiliar territory. They’ve selected in the top 10 every season since 2007 (wow) and now they have to sit back on draft night and wait to see who falls them them at the end of the first round.

That’s a good thing in the big picture since it means the team is doing well, but it means mock drafts are inherently more meaningless.

So let’s look at another one.

In his most recent mock draft, this time a 5-round banger, Chad Reuter over at NFL.com projected a handful of trades and he had the Jaguars in the mix.

In this mock, Chad has the Cleveland Browns moving up from the top of the 2nd round (33) to the 29th pick in the first round, giving up only a fourth round pick in return. He has the Browns trading up to acquire Connor Williams, offensive tackle from Texas.

This move gives the Jaguars an extra 4th round pick, meaning the team would have 5 picks in the four two rounds. This is what Chad has the Jaguars doing with those selections:

"33. Jaguars: Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M (pick acquired in projected trade with Browns)61. Jaguars: Isaiah Oliver, CB, Colorado93. Jaguars: Troy Fumagalli, TE, Wisconsin114. Jaguars: Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon (pick acquired in projected trade with Browns)129: Jaguars: Micah Kiser, LB, Virginia"

If the Jaguars do move back in the first round to collect more picks, I would think they could get something more than just a 4th rounder from the Browns. Additionally, it would be odd for the Jaguars to keep all those picks considering the lack of space available on the roster for rookies.

If the Jaguars do move back, I would expect them to maneuver around some more and target players they like. In this case, rather than Isaiah Oliver – a return specialist and slot corner – why not take Mason Rudolph at the end of the second round? Or move back up in the third round for another QB?

I would be shocked if the Jaguars make it through the first four rounds without selecting a passer.

The rest of the positions chosen make sense. The Jaguars need a tight end and they could certainly use depth at running back at linebacker.