Jaguars biggest winners and losers of the 2022 NFL Draft

No. 2 biggest loser of the 2022 NFL Draft – Trevor Lawrence, QB.

At first glance, calling Trevor Lawrence a loser of the 2022 draft might not make sense, when you take into account the Jaguars made it their mission to get him a better surrounding cast in free agency but that’s precisely why.

Lawrence was a winner in free agency precisely because of all the additions the Jags made on offense but that was then. In the draft, the top brass’ opted to load up on defensive talent and only devoted two picks to their offense, Kentucky center Luke Fortner in the third round and running back Snoop Conner in the fifth. Both players could get plenty of playing time in their rookie campaigns but the Jags could have also added a left guard to compete with Ben Bartch, and more importantly more wide receiver.

After signing Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in free agency, investing an early-round pick in a receiver might not have been a sound strategy going into the draft but Jacksonville could have easily used one of their many late-round selections on one. The team eventually signed Notre Dame’s Kevin Austin Jr. as an undrafted free agent but it feels like they could have done more.

On the bright side, the Jaguars are striving for balance and by allocating so many resources to their defense, Lawrence won’t have to be tasked with scoring more than 30 points per game to give his team a chance to win.