The Jacksonville Jaguars have all their 2022 draft class signed, meaning that rookies won’t have to worry about anything but getting ready for training camp. Some of them could end up starting from Day 1, which is bad news for a few players that were on the roster last year.
On the other hand, several players will benefit from the moves the Jaguars’ brass made (or didn’t make) in the draft. In particular, these five saw their stock rose after this year’s selection meeting.
No. 1 Jaguars player whose stock rose after the draft – Cam Robinson, LT
Left tackle Cam Robinson was set to become a free agent this offseason, and the Jags could have drafted his replacement with the first overall pick in the draft. However, they opted to go with “the devil they know” and applied the franchise tag on Robinson for the second consecutive year, ensuring he would remain in Jacksonville for at least one more season.
Even after tagging Robinson, there was a slight chance general manager Trent Baalke would take either Evan Neal or Ikem Ekwonu at No.1, plug them at left guard and move them to tackle in 2023. But just before the draft, the Jaguars made a long-term commitment to Robinson, giving him a three-year deal worth $54 million and squashing any possibility of taking an offensive tackle in the first round.
The Jags ended up not selecting a single left tackle in the draft, and Robinson won’t have to worry about his job security for the next three years.
No. 2 Jaguars player whose stock rose after the draft – Andre Cisco, S
Safety wasn’t a particularly pressing need for the Jaguars this offseason and that was reflected in their additions or lack thereof to the position. Besides bringing back Andrew Wingard on a one-year tender, the team’s brass didn’t make any moves these past few months and will go into the training camp with last year’s group.
This means that Rayshawn Jenkins should return to the starting lineup after missing the last three games of the 2021 season with an ankle injury. Jenkins wasn’t great last year and was even disqualified from Jacksonville’s Week 11 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers after throwing a punch at wide receiver Jauan Jennings. However, the Jaguars were a mess under Urban Meyer, and the former Miami standout should get a clean slate under Doug Pederson.
Meanwhile, Cisco will most likely need to beat Wingard for the starting job opposite Jenkins but he should have no trouble doing it. After tearing his ACL in 2020 and a lower-body injury the year before, the former Orangeman entered the 2021 draft with injury question marks. Fortunately, he had no setbacks and was a full-go. Nevertheless, he didn’t get much playing time until the end of the season.
The fact that the Jaguars didn’t use a single draft pick at safety should be a ringing endorsement of Cisco. And with one year of experience under his belt, he should have a clear path to the starting lineup. After all, he has the speed and range to make plays for a secondary that didn’t force many turnovers last year.
No. 3 Jaguars player whose stock rose after the draft – Ben Bartch, LG
Here’s another player that benefited from the moves the Jaguars didn’t make in the draft. A fourth-round pick in 2020, Ben Bartch has made 12 starts over the last two years (11 in 2021), and barring injury, he will be Jacksonville’s starting left guard in Week 1.
The Jags parted ways with offensive guards Andrew Norwell and A.J. Cann. They signed Brandon Scherff in free agency to take the latter’s spot in the lineup but didn’t add anyone to fill the void left by the former. Instead, the team’s brass will take a look at Bartch in 2022. Last year, the former St. John Johnny allowed three sacks and 24 total pressures on 460 pass-blocking snaps. While those aren’t great numbers, he posted Pro Football Focus grades of 77.8 or higher from Weeks 8 to 10. Although it was just a brief stretch of solid play, he finished the year with a 62.6 overall grade.
There are reasons to believe that the coaching staff and/or the front office expect Bartch to improve in 2022. The biggest one is that they didn’t bring in anyone to compete for the left guard job. Veteran Tyler Shatley might get a look there if he can’t beat rookie Luke Fortner for the center job.
With Scherff entrenched as the Jaguars’ right guard in 2022, there are no viable options at left guard but Bartch. He will have a chance to show the Jaguars’ trust in him wasn’t misplaced.
No. 4 Jaguars player whose stock rose after the draft – Josh Allen, OLB
Edge defender Josh Allen’s journey in the NFL hasn’t been linear, far from it. After registering 10.5 sacks as a rookie and earning a Pro Bowl designation, it looked like he was on his way to joining the upper echelon of pass rushers in the NFL. However, he came crashing down the following season, missing eight games and logging just 2.5 sacks after suffering a knee injury.
Allen kind of bounced back last year, appearing in 16 games with 15 starts. He was off to a solid start and had 5.5 sacks in the first half of the season but his performance progressively dwindled as the year progressed and only mustered two the rest of the way. Now, it would be unfair to single out the former Kentucky Wildcat when the Jaguars had to deal with the Urban Meyer fiasco. And now that Doug Pederson is in charge, Allen and other players should see an uptick in production in 2022.
But Pederson and his “steady hand” aren’t the only reason Allen’s stock will rise this upcoming season. The front office provided him plenty of help, first in free agency and later in the draft. In addition to signing former San Francisco 49ers defensive end Arden Key, the Jags brought back Adam Gotsis, a key cog in their defensive line rotation last year. If that wasn’t enough, Jacksonville drafted star defensive lineman Travon Walker, and linebackers Chad Muma and Devin Lloyd.
With better talent around him, Josh Allen should be able to meet the super expectations he set for himself in 2022.
No. 5 Jaguars player whose stock rose after the draft, Trevor Lawrence, QB
The Jaguars only drafted two offensive players in this year’s selection meeting, interior offensive lineman Luke Fortner at No. 65 and running back Snoop Conner in the fifth round. But that doesn’t mean the Jaguars didn’t help Trevor Lawrence. As a matter of fact, general manager Trent Baalke did the responsible thing and fortify the defense, ensuring that the sophomore quarterback doesn’t have to outscore teams to win games in 2022.
Instead of putting all his eggs in the proverbial basket, Baalke bolstered the Jaguars’ front seven in the draft. You could argue that the Jaguars should have invested at least one pick in the wide receiver position but it might have been excessive after signing Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in free agency.
Simply, there was no more room for yet another receiver with Marvin Jones Jr., Laquon Treadwell and Laviska Shenault Jr. already on the roster. Plus, Jacksonville signed Notre Dame’s Kevin Austin Jr. after the draft, so they did technically acquire another wide receiver.
Similarly, the Jags signed Evan Engram, so tight end wasn’t a pressing need in the draft either. If you think about it, the team’s brass focused on making upgrades to their defense in the draft because they had already addressed the offense in free agency, and after a busy offseason, Trevor Lawrence has enough talent around him to make a huge leap in Year 2.