Ranking the last 10 Jaguars first-round picks in the NFL Draft
• The Jaguars have had 10 picks in the 1st-round since 2017. Here's how they stack up in a ranking.
Free agency gives teams the opportunity to complement their roster but the best way to build sustained success is through the draft, especially in the first round. The more picks you get right, the higher your chances of winning are. The Jacksonville Jaguars, for their part, have their fair share of disappointments but also a handful of hits.
This begs the question, how would the Jags' last ten picks stack up when compared to each other? Some flopped almost right away. Others had success early on but faded. Then, there are those who still have plenty of upside. The following ranking takes all that into account to sort them out.
10. CJ Henderson, CB - Pick No. 9, 2020
The Jaguars thought they had found a replacement for All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey when they drafted C.J. Henderson ninth overall in 2020. However, the former Florida Gator wasn't able to live up to expectations. While he flashed early as a rookie, a groin injury cut his season shortly.
Henderson then underwent labrum surgery in the offseason and missed a considerable portion of training camp due to a myriad of issues. Three games into the 2022 season, the team's brass realized they had seen enough of him and traded him to the Carolina Panthers for a third-round pick and tight end Dan Arnold. In total, Henderson appeared in 10 games in Jacksonville, certainly not what the Jags had in mind when they drafted him.
9. K'Lavon Chaisson, Edge - Pick 20, 2020
Eleven picks after drafting C.J. Henderson, the Jags took K'Lavon Chaisson. At the time, the pick made sense, at least in theory. Chaisson was going to have the chance to hone his skills behind Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, and Josh Allen.
However, the front office traded Ngakoue and Campbell before the start of the 2020 season, which pressed Chaisson into a bigger role than expected. Add the fact that he was making the transition to defensive end, and he wasn't off to a great start to his NFL career. Unfortunately, things didn't change much the next three years.
After four years in Jacksonville, Chaisson had posted four career sacks. The only reason he kept getting chances in 2023 was because the Jags had nobody else, but once he became a free agent, they didn't make an effort to bringing back.