3 massive mistakes the Jaguars might regret after the 2024 NFL Draft

The Jacksonville Jaguars came out of the 2024 NFL draft with a promising haul. Besides adding players who should contribute right away, the front office picked a handful of players who could take on key roles down the stretch.

Of course, it will take time to fully assess their 2024 class but most of the decisions the Jags made look good. That said, they also made a few moves that they could eventually come to regret, including the next three.

3. Waiting until Round 3 to take a cornerback

Even though cornerback was among the Jaguars' most pressing needs entering the draft, they didn't seem to be in a rush to take care of it. When they were on the clock at No. 17 in the first round, no cornerback had been selected, so they could've chosen whichever they preferred the most. Instead, they moved down six spots and took wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

Then in the second round, the Jags stayed put and took defensive tackle Maason Smith with the 48th pick. While Smith has the tools to become a game-changer, the case could be made that they could've traded up and targeted one of the best remaining cornerbacks.

Cooper DeJean and Kool-Aid McKinstry were still on the board in the 30s. The Jags had the chance to move up and go after either one if they had wanted to.

General manager Trent Baalke acknowledged after the fact that "maybe" the team did try to trade up. But based on how things played out, they might not have made an aggressive effort. Heck, if they really wanted to draft Maason Smith, they could've taken a cornerback first and then traded back into the second round. After all, they had the ammo to make it happen after trading down in the first round. However, they took a bit of a conservative approach and waited until pick 96 to take Jarrian Jones.

In defense of the Jones pick, he has the tools to eventually develop into a starter but the Jaguars had several opportunities to upgrade at cornerback in the first two rounds and pass on them.