Ranking Jaguars biggest NFL Draft gems of the last decade

The Jacksonville Jaguars have found several building blocks in the first and second rounds of the NFL Draft. However, their hit rate in later rounds hasn't been nearly as great. That said, they've run into a handful of draft gems every now and then.

So what's exactly a draft gem? More often than not, it's a late-round pick that either did more than expected or outperformed this draft slot. Undrafted free agents don't meet the criteria though, so you won't find Andrew Wingard, James Robinson, or Allen Hurns in the following ranking. Similarly, former Jaguars who flourished with other teams (Josh Oliver, Quincy Williams) won't pop up here. With this in mind, here are the Jags' five biggest draft gems in the last decade.

5. Logan Cooke, punter - Round 7, pick 247, 2018

Special teams don't get the spotlight unless they're very good... or bad, and if you think kickers don't get nearly as much praise as they deserve, punters have it even worse. Fortunately for the Jaguars, they haven't had to worry about the punter position since they took Logan Cooke in the seventh round of 2018.

What makes the Cooke selection stand out even more is that the rest of the Jaguars' 2018 draft class was dreadful. Sure, wide receiver DJ Chark Jr. made the Pro Bowl in his sophomore season but other than that, Jacksonville came out of the draft that year with a subpar haul, Cook notwithstanding.

If that wasn't enough to show Cook some love, how about the fact that he was the only Jaguar who got All-Pro votes in 2021, the year Urban Meyer turned the team upside down? And all it cost Jacksonville to have stability at punter was a measly late-round pick.