How did NFL.com grade the Jaguars draft class?
By David Levin
Per NFL.com, the Jacksonville Jaguars outdid themselves with their first two picks in the 2019 NFL Draft. But after that, there were a few head-scratchers.
I know reading different publications and their assessment of the Jaguars draft class really doesn’t mean anything other than an opinion or two about how the organization did in adding players to their roster for the future. We here at Black and Teal have done the same thing – assessing what we think was good and bad of a weekend of hope for the organization. So when I read draft grades, I tend to take them with a grain of salt.
Everyone has an opinion.
Gennaro Filice and Dan Parr of NFL.com released their most recent draft rankings of all 32 teams, listing each pick and assessing an overall grade. The Jaguars came in at 25th overall, earning a “B-” grade for the last weekend in April. According to these analysts, there was a mixed bag of emotion they were left with after looking over the team’s seven selections.
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"“The Jaguars had me … but then they lost me. I don’t think Duval County could have dreamed up a better start than having [Josh] Allen fall to them in Round 1 only to have [Jawaan] Taylor drop into their laps in Round 2.” they wrote. “This is the stuff A+ drafts are made of.Allen, the consensus No. 3 player in the draft, went seventh because some teams drafting ahead of Jacksonville got cute, and Taylor’s slide was one of the biggest mysteries of draft weekend, with chatter of knee issues floating about the interwebs.”"
That’s as good as it gets from the site. Had Jacksonville stopped there, this could have been the best draft class in the entire NFL. But as the Jaguars front office made other selections, their opinions changed, questioning moves made in Round 3-7.
You figured the team’s selection of Quincy Williams with the 98th pick (3rd round) would draw some unfavorable comments, but both Felice and Parr didn’t stop there. Let’s call it constructive criticism.
"“Then things got weird in Round 3. I understand wanting to bring in a tight end who can catch the ball, as it was certainly a need and Oliver can do that, but why not go with Texas A&M’s Jace Sternberger — the more highly regarded pass-catching tight end by Lance Zierlein and many others — if they were set on addressing the position?,” they added. “It seems they could have gotten better value out of that pick.The selection of Quincy Williams — brother of No. 3 overall pick Quinnen Williams — caught many by surprise. He’ll either become one of the draft’s biggest steals — he has some fun highlights — or biggest reaches.”"
There was praise for the team’s selection of Temple running back Ryquell Armstead and of course the likable Gardner Minshew, the quarterback out of Washington State. They both believe he can be a solid backup in the NFL.
The main focus of the Jaguars draft was to find pieces of the puzzle on offense to help support newly acquired quarterback Nick Foles and add depth at critical positions left barren from last season.
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Based on their rankings, the Jaguars were third in the AFC South, in front of the Houston Texans (31st on the list) and behind Tennessee (3rd) and Indianapolis (13th).