Jacksonville Jaguars mock draft: Best and worst-case scenarios for Trevor Lawrence in 2024 NFL Draft
Failing to qualify for the playoffs with Trevor Lawrence as your quarterback is not an acceptable situation for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The team will be expected to progress in 2024 and needs to add quality pieces to their roster in the 2024 NFL Draft.
As far as free agency goes, the front office has made some smart moves. Prodigious pass rusher Josh Allen has been kept in Jacksonville via the franchise tag,, but the long-term nature of that move is hardly inspiring.
It's expected he will depart by 2025, but the Jags have one last season with him in the team. As far as offensive help goes, Lawrence would love a playmaker at the wide receiver position.
Gabe Davis arrived from the Bills in free agency and is a smart acquisition, but you can’t help but feel the team is still a bit light in game-changing options for Lawrence. Too often he was trying to do everything in 2023, which wasn’t aided by a dismal running game.
The issues with the run came on the offensive line. Those in Duval are rapidly losing patience with second-year center Luke Fortner and expect the team to make a move to secure a center in the draft.
However, that isn’t the most pressing concern on the line, with the guard situation in Jacksonville not good either. In an ideal world, the Jags should snag one of the elite guards in the first round and shape their draft strategy downwards from there.
In the secondary, there's a need for support. Tyson Campbell was playing some of the best defense in the NFL before his injury, so the Jags need to weigh up whether he will ever get back to his best.
Nevertheless, a second corner needs to be drafted to help the team in that position, but it isn’t the primary concern.
Arik Armstead is a stud at defensive tackle and has been incredible for the 49ers over the last few years. Of course, with cap difficulties beginning to bite in Santa Clara, it was inevitable that he would have to leave.
Jacksonville pulled off a masterstroke in signing him to a three-year deal worth $51 million. At 30, he still has a lot of football ahead of him, and he vastly improves the team’s defensive line. Of course, planning for the future is important, and selecting another DT in the later rounds is something the Jags need to do.
Trevor Lawrence is a generational QB, and it could be argued that the Jags haven’t really improved the personnel around him since he arrived. That will need to change in the 2024 NFL Draft if the team are to get back to the postseason.
Jacksonville Jaguars 2024 NFL mock draft scenarios
Jaguars mock draft: Best-case scenario
According to Sportskeeda’s 7-round NFL Mock Draft simulator, the Jaguars could have an exceptional draft in which they secure quality players for many positions of need.
Getting Lawrence extra protection, improving the running game and replacing underperforming guards could be achieved in one move as the Jags take Troy Fautanu with their first selection.
Fautanu is super athletic and has impressed with his performances in 2023 right through to the combine. He blocks well and is able to secure leverage over rushing defenders, which protects the QB.
Fautanu’s real quality, though, is his explosiveness at the point, with his ability to move defenders out of position through sheer force, as well as getting the jump on them. That creates so many holes for a running back, and it’s impossible that the Jags’ running offense doesn’t improve by a lot with Fautanu in the line-up.
Normally, there's a standout weakness in a guard who can move so well, but that isn’t the case here. The Washington guard is an expert with his hands, knocking opponents out of sync with well-aimed palms.
With the Jags’ second selection in the draft, Keon Coleman is selected to help Lawrence at wide receiver. He is a tall playmaker and will immediately improve Lawrence’s options.
He's quick off the line and uses his height well to make contested catches and is an excellent value addition here.
The cornerback issue is addressed in the right spot for the Jags. They didn’t overspend but were still able to secure D.J. James who is a solid playmaker right now but has a lot of scope for improvement. It also doesn’t add any additional pressure to Tyson Campbell, who is continuing his recovery.
As previously mentioned, Josh Allen will not be in Jacksonville indefinitely, so the team adds Javon Solomon out of Troy as a developmental edge rusher. He has talent but will be a depth option in his first year and could be a fine starter in the future.
Concerns about Fortner at center see both Beaux Limmer and Hunter Nourzad selected. They are talented and versatile and can fill gaps all across the O-Line.
Here’s how the ideal Jags draft played out in full:
· Troy Fautanu, OG, Washington
· Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
· D.J. James, CB, Auburn
· Javon Solomon, EDGE, Troy
· Mason Smith, DT, LSU
· Beaux Limmer, OC, Arkansas
· Hunter Nourzad, OC, Penn State
· Demani Richardson, S, Texas A&M
Jaguars mock draft: Worst-case scenario
One of the worst things the Jaguars could do would be to trade out of the first round, and in Sportskeeda’s 7-round Mock Draft simulator, their worst-case scenario sees them do just that.
In an attempt to secure value later on in the draft, the team could miss out on elite prospects in key areas and would have to take Kamari Lassiter at CB.
He wouldn’t necessarily be a starter right away, and you’ve surrendered the chance to get true quality on the O-Line in the first-round.
Chris Braswell off the EDGE is fine, but it doesn’t fill an immediate need. Devontez Walker out of North Carolina isn’t as good a wide receiver, as the Jags could have gotten earlier if they hadn’t made the trade.
Later in the draft the team are just adding depth players to positions they may not necessarily need, and this is a draft class which in truth doesn’t actually improve the Jags’ starting lineup in any area. That would be an unmitigated disaster for Trevor Lawrence.
Here’s how the picks played out in full:
· Kamari Lassiter, CB, Georgia
· Chris Braswell, EDGE, Alabama
· Devontez Walker, WR, North Carolina
· Jaden Hicks, S, Washington State
· Leonard Taylor, DT, Miami (FL)
· Jase McClellan, RB, Alabama
· Layden Robinson, OG, Texas A&M
· Jordan Jefferson, DT, LSU
· Tip Reiman, TE, Illinois
· Michael Barrett, LB, Michigan