Jacksonville Jaguars 2021 draft class gets fair grade in recent list

Trevor Lawrence was the most prominent member of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2021 NFL Draft class but he wasn’t the only that was expected to have an impact right out of the gate. So how did the Jags’ rookie class fare last year? Not bad but not great either if you ask Bleacher Report.

Kristopher Knox of B/R recently graded every NFL team’s 2021 draft healed and gave the Jaguars a “C” for their efforts. Knox doesn’t give Jacksonville credit for taking Trevor Lawrence since almost anyone in their position would have made the same choice. Also, he doesn’t blame the young signal-caller for playing for a “talented-starved roster and all-time terrible coaching situation“.

Knox notes that outside Lawrence and cornerback Tyson Campbell, the Jags didn’t get much production from their 2021 draft class with running back Travis Etienne suffering a Lisfranc injury and other rookies not getting much playing time.

"Walker Little and Andre Cisco each made three starts in 2021, but Jay Tufele and Jalen Camp appeared in only seven combined games. Jordan Smith never saw the field, while Luke Farrell finished with a mere seven receptions. The problem here is that with a league-worst roster, the Jags should have found opportunities for their rookies. They largely did not. Campbell and Lawrence may be future stars, and Etienne is a total unknown, but this class will have to bank on its development to be an acceptable one."

The Jaguars should have given their rookies more playing time in 2021.

Expecting every draft pick to make the Pro Bowl is unrealistic but the Jaguars had a solid draft class all things considered. The issue is that they didn’t give the rookies much playing time — besides Lawrence and Campbell — was one of Urban Meyer’s biggest blunders. Based on how things played out, it seemed like the coaching staff wanted to bring their first-year players along slowly and afford them some sort of redshirt season even though they might have benefited from seeing the field often.

Before the season, the Jaguars made the curious decision of naming Andrew Wingard the starting safety opposite Rayshawn Jenkins and kept Andre Cisco on the bench for most of the year even though he was probably the more talented of the two. Something similar happened in the offensive line. Offensive tackle Walker Little was a healthy scratch early in the season and made his first start only because left tackle Cam Robinson wasn’t good to go. In retrospect, the coaching staff could have found a spot for Little across the offensive line. Both Cisco and LIttle performed well when given the chance and it’s fair to ask why they didn’t get more reps sooner.

Tight end Luke Farrell and edge rusher Jordan Smith didn’t contribute much but that’s understandable since the former was a fifth-round selection and the latter was a fifth-rounder. Nevertheless, the Jaguars could have gotten more from Cisco and Little but chose not to. The team’s brass needs to consider giving both a bigger role next season.

The Jaguars need to add playmakers in both free agency and the draft but their 2021 rookie class also needs to make a leap in Year 2 if they want to win more games than they did last season.