4 things we learned about the Jaguars during the 2022 NFL Draft

It’s been almost a week since the 2022 NFL Draft came to an end and while it will be a while, probably a couple of years, before the Jacksonville Jaguars learn how good (or bad) their haul was, the early results are promising.

Also, there are several things that the Jags revealed about their current strategy. Here are four that stood out.

1. The Jaguars trusted their board throughout the process.

Once it became clear that no teams were interested in acquiring the first overall pick, the Jaguars zeroed in on Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker. And once they chose him, they jumped back into the first round to take Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd with the 27th pick. And then, they waited until the third round to make their next selection.

Instead of trading up once again to get a second-round selection, they allowed Kentucky center Luke Fortner to fall to them at No. 65. Five picks later, they chose Wyoming linebacker Chad Muma despite the fact that they had already drafted Lloyd. They later traded up again to select running back Snoop Conner in the fifth round and took cornerbacks Gregory Junior and Montaric Brown with back-to-back picks in the seventh round.

Instead of reaching for a wide receiver or another offensive lineman, they patiently let the draft unfold and only moved up when they saw value in doing so. Before the draft, general manager Trent Baalke told the media that the team’s brass hoped “talent” and “best player” came together but they weren’t opposed to making a position group stronger, which is precisely what they did.

The Jaguars went to the draft with a concise plan and executed it pretty well. While they couldn’t fill all their roster holes, they addressed most of them.