Jaguars second-round picks will be their toughest decision in the 2021 draft

The Jacksonville Jaguars really don’t need to put effort into their draft selection process until the 25th overall pick comes along. It’s quite clear that they will select quarterback Trevor Lawrence number one overall—unless they shock everyone and go in a completely unexpected direction, but that’s unlikely.

Following the selection of a quarterback with their first pick, the Jaguars have five very likely positions they will target with their next three picks (25th, 33rd, and 45th)— safety, tight end, wide receiver, defensive tackle, and offensive tackle.

The direction that the Jags go with the 25th pick will heavily affect their approach in the second round. The second round will be the Jaguars’ toughest decision of the draft.

Looking at the prospect rankings from various networks and simulating multiple mock drafts, defensive tackle and tight end felt like the two most crucial positions to address first. However, seeing how the draft fell around them, the Jaguars still benefited from addressing these positions in the third and fourth rounds.

Jacksonville’s general manager Trent Baalke has said that this is a value-based team when it comes to the draft. So the team will likely select the best player available rather than draft based on need.

While defensive tackle, offensive tackle, and tight end seem like the major three needs with their first few picks, the Jags could very well select a wide receiver like Kadarious Toney at 25 and an edge rusher like Jayson Oweh at 33.

The Jaguars have one move they have to make

While the offensive line is fairly set for the Jaguars ahead of the draft, they should still prioritize adding an offensive tackle at picks 25, 33, or 45. Samuel Cosmi, Liam Eichenberg, Dillon Radunz, Teven Jenkins, and Jalen Mayfield are all expected to be drafted within this range. Jacksonville has to ensure that they land one of these players.

They did franchise tag Cam Robinson in the off-season and he will stick around for at least one more year. However, if the Jaguars draft a tackle early and Robinson doesn’t end up panning out in 2021, they will have a replacement with one year of development already under his belt.