Draftees the Jaguars regret ignoring in favor of Laviska Shenault Jr. in 2020
During his eight-year stint with the Jacksonville Jaguars, former general manager Dave Caldwell failed to acquire playmakers in the daft. In his defense, he did have a few hits. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Myles Jack, and outside linebacker Josh Allen were among the biggest ones. However, his misses were too many to overcome.
Out of all the drafts Caldwell oversaw in Jacksonville, 2020 was probably the worst. That year, he had two first-round picks and used them in cornerback C.J. Henderson and edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson. The former only suited up for 10 games before he was shipped to the Carolina Panthers while the latter spent four underwhelming seasons with the Jags. Things didn't go much better in the second round.
With the 43rd overall selection, Jacksonville took wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. The former Colorado Buffalo showed promise as a rookie, hauling in 58 receptions for 600 yards with five touchdowns. He was expected to be better the following year but instead regressed. By Year 3, the Jaguars had seen enough of him and traded him to the Panthers.
Shenault went on to play 21 games with four starts in Carolina, catching 37 receptions for 329 yards and one touchdown. He became a free agent in 2024 and got a fresh start with the Seattle Seahawks. However, Viska is not much more than a backup at this stage of his career.
Based on how things played out for Shenault in Jacksonville, it's fair to say that the Jaguars would've been better off taking any of the following four players.
The Jaguars could've drafted Josh Uche instead of Laviska Shenault Jr.
Outside linebacker Josh Allen made the Pro Bowl in 2019. He was expected to build off of his success the following year but a knee injury limited him to just eight games. The fact that the Jags traded Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue before the start of the regular season didn't help matters.
With Allen missing time and an inexperienced K'Lavon Chaisson pressed into a featured role, the Jacksonville pass rush managed to register a measly 18 sacks in 2020. Maybe if the front office had drafted Josh Uche instead of Shenault, the dropoff wouldn't have been as steep.
Uche ended up going to the New England Patriots at No. 60. While he's experienced plenty of ups and downs throughout his career, the former Michigan Wolverine showed in 20222 that he can create disruption at the line of scrimmage, registering 11.5 sacks.
On the other hand, Uche has also been underwhelming throughout his career. In his first two NFL seasons, he only logged four sacks. After his breakout season in 2022, he tallied just three quarterback takedowns. It's true that injuries have prevented him from reaching his potential but availability is the best ability, which is why he's entering a make-or-break season in Foxborough.