Jaguars address OL in latest Pro Football Focus mock draft
While Jacksonville was able to get its first win of the season on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins in London, the team still sits at 1-6 and doesn’t have much hope of finishing within the upper echelon of the NFL. The Jags’ are likely heading to another top-10 pick, and potentially even earlier.
They are no longer projected to pick first overall after the win, meaning they likely won’t have the opportunity to take Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, but this class has a lot of elite players, especially in the trenches.
The Jaguars have other excellent defensive line options like Georgia’s Jordan Davis, but if they were to pick in the top-5, they will likely go in a different direction. And that direction could be something along the lines of what Pro Football Focus projected in its latest 2022 mock draft.
PFF has the Jags picking third and using that selection on the best offensive lineman in the entire draft in Alabama tackle Evan Neal.
On 468 snaps this season, the former five-star recruit has allowed only eight total pressures and hasn’t given up a single sack. At 6-foot-7, 370 pounds, Neal is a rare blend of size and athleticism for the position.
Neal is an elite prospect, and he would fill a decently large area of need for the team. Neither tackles Cam Robinson or Jawaan Taylor are having seasons where the team couldn’t make upgrades, and Robinson is playing on the franchise tag. The Jaguars drafted Walker Little from Stanford in the second round this year, and they hope he will develop into a starting-caliber player.
But the Jags could certainly use a stronger long-term option, and Neal would provide just that. There are other enticing players available here, such as Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton, but it would be hard to argue that any selection other than Neal would be a better blend of need and value.
