RB Snoop Conner seen as Jaguars best pick in the 2022 NFL Draft

The Jacksonville Jaguars needed to bolster their running back depth in the 2022 NFL Draft, so it wasn’t particularly surprising that they used a fifth-round pick on Ole Miss’ Snoop Conner to address the need. While they’ve faced plenty of criticism for taking Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker with the first overall pick, they’ve gotten praise for their selection of the former Rebel.

Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports recently discussed every NFL team’s best pick in this year’s draft and Conner was his choice for Jacksonville while cornerback Montaric Brown was an honorable mention. Trapasso notes that the running back was one of the Jags’ two selections he liked (the other was Brown) and believes that taking him in the fifth round was a nice value.

"This was one of two Jaguars selections I liked in the 2022 draft. Conner is a chiseled, one-cut-then-run-through-your-face type of back, and he was severely underutilized at Ole Miss. He only toted the rock 304 times for the Rebels and averaged a hefty 5.2 yards per carry in his college career. Round 5 is typically nice value for an explosive power back."

A Mississippi native, Conner was a consensus 3-star prospect out of High School. At Ole Miss, he was part of a running back committee, so he’s got fresh legs coming into the NFL. As Trapasso points out, he averaged 5.2 yards per carry and will be a solid backup piece behind Travis Etienne and James Robinson.

Calling Snoop Conner the Jaguars’ best pick in 2022 may be hyperbole.

Trapasso has been critical of Travon Walker since before the draft, so he wasn’t going to choose him as the Jaguars’ best draft pick in the draft. On the other hand, you would think that Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd merited consideration but that wasn’t the case.

Keep in mind that Conner won’t have a feature role in Jacksonville and will instead back up Travis Etienne while James Robinson continues to recover from the torn Achilles he sustained towards the end of the 2021 season. Also, Conner might need to compete with Ryquell Armstead for the third running back spot on the depth chart.

Last season, Armstead racked up 15 carries for 80 yards, so Conner won’t be handed the job and will instead have to earn it. This is not to say that he will or not but he must be ready for the challenge. Also, Etienne will carry most of the workload and might only miss a good amount of carries once Robinson is back.

Taking Conner in the fifth round was a smart move with Etienne and Robinson coming back from injuries but it’s hard to name him the Jags’ best pick when there are other more deserving candidates such as Devin Lloyd and even Luke Fortner.