2021 NFL Draft: Grading Jacksonville Jaguars’ nine draft picks

After three days of trades, phone calls, and high stakes, the 2021 NFL Draft is in the books, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are in better shape than they were after the end of the 2020 season, but how much did they really improve? After all, all teams added players to their roster and it’s too early to tell who came out of the player selection meeting with the best draft haul.

The Jaguars entered the draft with ten selections but ended up with just nine players because they gave picks 130, 170, and 249 to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for picks 121 and 209. It doesn’t matter though, as they added depth and fortified their roster with the selections they had in hand.

Obviously, the expectations that come with being an early-round pick are significantly higher than those surrounding Day 3 selections. Nevertheless, the team added a few interesting players late in the process that could compete for significant playing time right out of the gate.

Keep in mind that grading draft picks is a subjective art. After all, first-round picks are expected to produce right away while mid-round selections are afforded the opportunity to develop behind established starters. Moreover, teams don’t project their Day 3 picks to have a big impact, and if they do, they are doing something wrong, as you shouldn’t expect a sixth-rounder to become a perennial All-Pro. Can it happen? It’s happened times but the odds of a late-round pick becoming an upper-echelon player are slim.

In the meantime, here are the grades for all the picks the Jaguars made in 2021’s draft.