Jaguars: The 2020 draft class must duplicate last year’s success

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a chance to find the right draft picks to help this team improve in 2020.

The only thing that could’ve been better about the Jacksonville Jaguars 2019 NFL Draft class was if they got more production from there to third round picks, Josh Oliver and Quincy Williams.

Looking at the class top to bottom, it is one of the better groups this team has brought onto its roster in the 25 years  the team has been in existence. That’s a credit to how well the scouting department did and for the front office being able to identify team needs and fill them with key components.

I wonder with so much success last season, can the feat be duplicated this April? Is there another rookie class that will help shift the balance of power in the AFC South next season?

Depending on who you talk to, the Jaguars needs this offseason are all over the board.

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Finding help with the interior defensive line is mandatory. Finding depth at middle and outside linebacker is also a major needed. The team could also use another tight end since the position was decimated by injuries last year.

Jacksonville has two viable running backs on the roster. Could another be added to the mix? Is there a chance the Jaguars go after another playmaker at the wide receiver position? With so many questions about how the draft will play out, this free agency class becomes even more important to the sustainability and success within the organization.

General manager David Caldwell will once again lead the war room and decision making with draft picks. It’s a bit different this time this year because Doug Marrone, the teams head coach, will have more input about which players he would like to work with. I have no doubt that the two will work well together, but I also have to wonder whether they’re going to have the same kind of mindset as this team had last year.

According to several sources including Pro Football Focus, the Jaguars are the second best and most productive draft class in the NFL last year. Josh Allen lead the team 10.5 sacks and is a candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Gardner Minshew was amongst the rookie leaders in passing. Jawaan Taylor was a rock at right tackle. The team got nothing from Oliver last year, who spent almost the entire season dealing with injuries.

Williams showed flashes at times and could be a successful linebacker in the NFL, but he still has to deal with the speed of the game and the size of the competition he is now playing against.

Jacksonville has the luxury of extra draft picks in both 2020 and 2021. This should be the start of either a rebuilding project or a refurnishing one, where players are brought in to enhance what is already established on the roster. It will be up to Caldwell to identify which need is greater and to find the player who fits the teams profile.

If he can do that once again, as he has had some success with some draft picks prior to Tom Coughlin’s arrival, then there is hope this team can catch lightning in a bottle again and have as much success with its rookies in 2020 as it did last season.