NFL Draft 2020: If the Jaguars Look at Offense in the First Round

What will the Jacksonville Jaguars do with their first two picks in the NFL Draft? Conventional wisdom says they strike for defense, but it’s anyone’s guess.

The growing belief amongst NFL insiders and those who follow the team on a daily basis is the Jacksonville Jaguars will look to add pieces to their fractured defense in the first round of the NFL Draft.

With two picks in the top 20 and plenty of prospects who should be available, it’s conceivable this organization can fill two major needs and then use its second-round pick (No. 42) to add to another area of concern. This draft is important to the future of general manager David Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone, but it’s also important to the future development of the young players already on the roster.

But what if the Jaguars throw everyone a curveball and decide to fix their issues on offense first and hope for more defensive talent in the second through seventh rounds? There are plenty of options for Caldwell and Marrone here – they just need to make the right decision without setting this team back further than it is.

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No pressure here at all. The 2019 draft class was one of the more productive groups in the league last season. Caldwell must pull that same kind of magic out of a hat in right at three months from now.

"“The Jaguars ranked 20thin the NFL in total offense, and were 16thin the NFL in passing and 17thin rushing,” John Oehser of Jaguars.com wrote."

That’s where new offensive coordinator Jay Gruden comes in as someone who has experience as a head coach and an innovative mind to change things up from the way they have been the past two seasons. In 2018, Jacksonville averaged 15.3 points a game.

In 2019, they jumped to 18.8 under John DeFilippo. The front office would love to see a spike back to 24 points a game from 2017 where this offense was ranked in the top six in the NFL.

The major talk about the Draft has been the potential of quarterbacks in the top half of the first round. Two players – Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa – are set to be picked in the top five. After that, it’s a scramble to get the next great arm.

The Jaguars don’t need a quarterback in this draft (although they still may draft one), and have other major needs on the offensive line, at wide receiver and tight end. They could also use another change-of-pace running back to add to the room.