Day 2 Jaguars draft prospects fans should watch closest at NFL Combine

Haters will say the Jacksonville Jaguars got fleeced in last year's draft when they traded up for Travis Hunter, a deal that left them without a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Debate with a wall, reader, if you don't believe the Hunter trade will pay off in a big way this coming season and beyond. Shoot, rookie GM James Gladstone did a pretty darn good job at the helm to get Jacksonville to 13 wins and an AFC South crown, did he not?

Gladstone cut his teeth in the Los Angeles Rams' front office. As often as the Rams were giving up premium draft capital during Gladstone's time in LA, an underrated part of their team-building was finding great value in the draft. The Rams rounded out their top-heavy roster with good, cheap talent on rookie contracts.

That's precisely what Gladstone will hope to emulate on Day 2 of the 2026 draft. Jacksonville owns the 56th pick in Round 2, plus three third-round selections at picks 81, 88, and 100 overall.

As the NFL Scouting Combine gets underway in Indianapolis, here are a few prospects for Jags fans to track who'd fill some key offseason needs.

Jaguars fans should be locked in on these 3 prospects at 2026 NFL Scouting Combine

(...Along with basically every single boundary cornerback.)

A.J. Haulcy, S, LSU

The 6-foot, 222-pound safety out of LSU can really lay the lumber as a run defender. Haulcy is a ball hawk as well, though, recording five interceptions at Houston in 2024 before snatching three INTs for the Tigers this past season.

Haulcy actually started his collegiate journey at New Mexico, and across his four years of playing, he averaged 87 combined tackles per season. Extrapolate that 12-game sample size to the NFL full slate of 17, and that'd be a clip of 123 annual tackles.

ESPN analyst Matt Bowen is an ex-NFL safety who likes what he sees in Haulcy:

So to say this guy has a nose for the football is a severe understatement. Not often do you come across a safety with this much ball production who can play center field, yet is so darn physical.

That type of mindset is precisely what Jacksonville's secondary could use. Last year's breakout stud, Antonio Johnson, is a free agent in 2027, and the Jags have few other reliable players to bank on at the position group.

Provided he tests well in Indy — and he should — Haulcy should absolutely be a prime second-round target for Gladstone. He'd start right away in defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile's zone-heavy scheme.

Darrell Jackson Jr., DT, Florida State

Local Jags scouts ought to be al lover Darrell Jackson Jr., the 6'5", 328-pound behemoth out of Florida State. Although he had something of a down 2025 campaign, Jackson did post 3.5 sacks and 24 pressures in 2024.

It's hard to find men this size who have pass rushing upside. Jackson is still a little raw, but his movement skills are bound to send his draft stock through the roof when he goes through drills at the Combine.

Jackson is a brick wall defending the run and has at least proven he has some juice as a pass rusher. For as solid as Jacksonville's league-leading run defense was last season, the unit produced the sixth-fewest sacks in the NFL. That's a big flaw Gladstone and the front office must address.

With the similarly-attributed nose tackle DaVon Hamilton hitting the open market next offseason and Arik Armstead turning 33 in November, it's time to skew a little younger at defensive tackle in Duval County. Going the cost-effective route via the draft to add depth and a potential future starter like Jackson seems like the most feasible way to proceed.

Name a current interior blocker on the AFC South rival Titans or Texans who wants any part of Darrell Jackson Jr. barrelling toward them on Sundays in 2026. You can't.

Keyron Crawford, EDGE, Auburn

When it comes to targeting a boundary cornerback, I'm all for the Jags finding one in the draft to pair with Travis Hunter as the long-term tandem. Then again, Riq Woolen is available to sign.

Same sort of thinking on Jacksonville addressing its dearth of defensive ends behind Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. The latter is on an expiring contract. A solid hedge play for Walker would be Dre'Mont Jones, who boasts inside-outside versatility in the trenches to boot.

But as long as Jones doesn't break the bank, the Jags could conceivably double-dip on a designated pass rusher on Day 2 like Auburn's Keyron Crawford.

Again, Jacksonville has no trouble defending the run. It's OK that Crawford lacks some power and finesse in that area. The important thing is that he can rush the passer and help pump up that team sack total from 32.

Crawford took a year to adjust to SEC football after two seasons at Arkansas State. He came into his own in 2025, logging five sacks and 26 pressures with an 18.3% pass rush win rate, per PFF.

In the Senior Bowl game, Crawford pulled off a sick inside move to sack punk Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. Pretty explosive stuff. That's liable to translate well to the Underwear Olympics.

The Jags will probably miss out on Crawford's teammate, Keldric Faulk, as a hypothetical boost their defensive line. Might not be the worst thing. Even though Faulk is perceived as a superior prospect, Crawford's pure pass rushing ability is a better fit for what Jacksonville needs.