Jaguars draft grades: Ranking Jacksonville's last four draft classes

3. The Jaguars 2023 draft class

There are different ways you can look at the Jaguars' draft haul in 2023. Although they had to address a few needs, none of them were critical, so they had the flexibility to take several paths. While cornerback seemed like an obvious pick given their need for a nickel, they ended up filling the need until the sixth round when they took Christian Braswell.

With their first pick, the Jaguars drafted Anton Harrison, who will replace Jawaan Taylor at right tackle. Then, they added depth to their tight end room with Brenton Strange in Round 2. This pick was a bit surprising because the front office passed on better-known prospects such as Michael Mayer, Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, and Luke Musgrave. Trent Baalke told the media that they liked Strange's versatility and believed he was a culture fit in Jacksonville.

But the Jags weren't done throwing curveballs. They drafted running back Tank Bigsby in Round 3 even though they had just signed D'Ernest Johnson and brought back JaMycal Hasty on a two-year deal. Then again, Bigsby has a legitimate chance to beat Johnson and Hasty for the No. 2 job behind Travis Etienne, and if he does, nobody will question the pick.

Baalke then proceeded to add depth to their roster in the last four rounds of the draft. With most of the starters from 2022 set to return to the lineup next season, these Day 2 and 3 picks will have a chance to develop and many of them could go on to fill featured roles down the road.

In particular, outside linebacker Yasir Abdullah (Round 5), defensive back Antonio Johnson (Round 5), and wide receiver Parker Washington (Round 6) have lots of upside. Don't be surprised if any of them are starters by 2024. And if that's the case and Anton Harrison fares well, this draft class will earn an even better grade.

Final grade: C+