Jacksonville's two offensive selections in NFL Draft is Jaguars' fewest since 2016

The Jacksonville Jaguars did not prioritize putting additional weapons around quarterback Trevor Lawrence based on their selections in the three-day NFL Draft that concluded Saturday.

They didn't select a wide receiver or a tight end among their seven picks. In the third round, however, they did choose Kentucky center Luke Fortner, who could start immediately. And in the fifth round, they picked Ole Miss running back Snoop Collins.

Still, it was the fewest offensive players the Jaguars have selected in a draft since 2016. That year, the lone offensive player they selected was quarterback Brandon Allen, a sixth-round pick.

The Jaguars had drafted at least three offensive players in each of the past five drafts since 2021.

Five of the Jaguars' picks in the 2021 draft were offensive players, including Lawrence as the No. 1 overall pick and running back Travis Etienne, the 25th overall pick in the first round.

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It still does not appear the Jaguars have enough at wide receiver with an existing group that includes free-agent signees Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, and tight end Evan Engram. DJ Chark, a former Jaguars second-round pick in 2018, signed in free agency with the Detroit Lions.

The wide receiver class was considered to be one of the deepest in the 2022 draft. Six wide receivers were selected in the first round and seven in the second, including Georgia's George Pickens, taken by the Pittsburgh with the 52nd overall pick in the round.

"You know having these last three days with our guys doing what we did and just watching them," Pederson said. "Trent just said it, we’re not where we need to be but we have a lot of football ahead of us to get done and get prepared for the regular season. I am encouraged by what I saw. We obviously have some veteran leadership out there with guys like Christian [Kirk], Marvin [Jones Jr.], Zay [Jones] and Laviska [Shenault Jr.] and we have some younger guys that are also competing as well.

"I was really encouraged to see these guys really take from the classroom to the field and retain the information. That’s a really good start and a really good indicator to the things that we can do moving forward."

What position will Walker play?

Defensive end Travon Walker is the first No. 1 overall pick never to make All-American or even All-Conference.

But the Jaguars don't seem to mind as they rated him ahead of edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who ended up going No. 2 to the Detroit Lions.

"Obviously, we felt that with Travon as somebody that can really come in and help and make an impact right away and that’s why we chose him," coach Doug Pederson said. ''[He’s a] very talented individual.''

Now, the big question regarding Walker is how will he be used to maximize his talent. The Jaguars want to play him at one position but it's not clarified yet whether that will be defensive end or outside linebacker in the team's base defense that's expected to be a 3-4.

Drafting good character guys

Both of linebacker Devin Lloyd's parents, Joe Lloyd and Ronyta Johnson, served in the U.S. Navy. Lloyd said she served briefly in Jacksonville, taking a training class for three months in the early 1990s. She served in the military for 10 years, and Lloyd's father was a 30-year veteran before retiring just more than a year ago.

"My mom did 10, would’ve done more but she had me, so she had to get out because of that," Lloyd said. "But they’ve done so much for me just as far as just the values they’ve instilled, teaching me the right things, teaching me to be a good person. But they also taught me about self-discipline and really working for what you want to go get."

The Jaguars made a concerted effort to draft players with high character. Lloyd was a team captain for the Utah Utes, and Fortner has an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s in aerospace engineering, and an MBA.

"Honestly, our whole team right now is full of high character guys," Doug Pederson said. "When you have a group of men that are like that and they’re young and they’re energetic and you can shape them as players, you can shape them as men. It really goes a long way to how you perform on the football field because what happens is with guys of character, they become great leaders not only on the field but also in the community."

Streak continues with SEC selections

The Jaguars kept their streak going drafting at least one player from a SEC school for the 10th consecutive year. Four of Jaguars' seven picks were from SEC schools: Walker (Georgia), Fortner (Kentucky), Snoop Conner (Ole Miss) and Montaric Brown (Arkansas). Fortner and Brown was All-SEC selections in 2021.

Brown finished tied last season with South Carolina's Jaylan Foster with a SEC-high five interceptions, but he wasn't drafted until the seventh round.

"I’m just thankful for the organization in Jacksonville picking me up and believing in me," Brown said. "You know I played a lot of special teams and I came into Arkansas as a safety. That wouldn’t surprise me if they wanted me to play safety too because I came in as a top-ranked safety in high school and then I changed my position to corner during college. If they need me to do anything, play safety, play special teams, I’m willing to do it."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars prioritize defense in 2022 NFL Draft