Unheralded 2024 Jaguars draft picks who can surge up the depth chart

1. Cam Little, K - Round 6, pick 212

The Jaguars have dealt with a revolving door at kicker over the last three years. There are a few reasons to believe that Cam Little, their fifth-round pick, can bring stability to the position once and for all. But here's some context first.

The Jags moved on from Josh Lambo after early struggles in 2021. They quickly replaced him with Matthew Wright but he only lasted the remainder of the season. The team's brass then spent most of the following offseason kicking the tires on several options to no avail. In the end, they managed to claim Riley Patterson off waivers just before the start of the regular season.

All things considered, Patterson did a fine job but his limited leg strength forced the Jags to go for it on fourth down more than they would've liked. Also, his kickoff range was less than ideal, so they wasted no time pursuing Brandon McManus (and trading Patterson) as soon as the possibility arose.

McManus was coming off a down season but range wasn't an issue, so he was supposed to be an upgrade over Patterson. The only thing is that he wasn't. Although the got off to a solid start to the season, he had several key misses down the stretch, including five of 50+ yard, which beat the purpose of signing him.

To nobody's surprise, the Jaguars let McManus walk in free agency. The issue is that they still didn't have an answer at kicker. They had brought Patterson back, but if they were sold on him, they wouldn't have traded him to begin with. The team's brass also inked Joey Slye but he wasn't particularly great in 2023.

Before the draft, it looked like Patterson and Slye were going to compete for the job. But the plan took a turn when the Jags drafted Cam Little. Not long after the draft ended, they released Slye, showing how confident they are on Little.

Back at Arkansas, Little completed 64 percent of his attempts from 50-plus yards out. He also set a school record with an 82.3 percent completion rate in field goals. To summarize, Little has the leg strength that Patterson lacks and is as accurate as you want your kicker to be. That should help him come out on top by the end of the preseason.

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