Jaguars no longer take DT Taven Bryan in recent 2018 Redraft

The Jacksonville Jaguars had a less-than-stellar track record in the draft under former general manager Dave Caldwell and one of the most underwhelming selections of his tenure was defensive tackle Taven Bryan. A recent redraft retcons history and the Jags no longer take the Florida product.

Oliver Hodgkinson recently wrote a 2018 Redraft and the Jags pass up Bryan and instead choose linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who was originally taken by the Dallas Cowboys with the 19th overall pick. Hodgkinson says that the Boise State product is the kind of player Jacksonville needed to lead their defense. He then says that even though injuries have slowed Vander Esch down early in his NFL career, drafting him would’ve been worth the risk.

Although Vander Esch has never played more than 11 games in a season, he has started 30 and logged 272 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, ten passes defensed and two forced fumbles. While the linebacker has certainly been more productive than Bryan, Jacksonville could’ve taken better players.

By the time the Jags pick in this redraft, linebacker Darius Leonard, who was originally a second-round pick, is gone and so is wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. However, left tackle Kolton Miller and tight end Dallas Goedert are still on the board at 29. The former recently signed a three-year contract extension while the latter was one of the best offensive players the Philadelphia Eagles had last season.

Taven Bryan’s tenure with the Jacksonville Jaguars could be near the end.

Bryan hasn’t turned into the player the Jaguars expected when they drafted him 29th overall and it seems like they are ready to move on from him after trading for Malcom Brown this offseason. He was already outplayed by DaVon Hamilton and Doug Costin last season and things don’t look much better for him right now. The new coaching staff could give him one last chance to turn things around but even if they do, he would still be in the hot seat.

In hindsight, it’s easy to pan Bryan’s selection and the Jaguars can’t do much other than cutting their losses. However, it won’t matter much if this Jacksonville team starts winning soon.