After a flurry of moves in free agency, wide receiver and cornerback look like the two areas that the Jacksonville Jaguars will likely address early in the 2024 NFL draft.
While replacing the production lost when Calvin Ridley joined the Tennessee Titans will be a challenge, both ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah think the Jaguars will use the No. 17 overall pick on the other side of the ball. And both draft experts have the same player in mind for Jacksonville.
In Kiper’s latest mock draft, he says Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold would help the Jaguars at a position that “could still require reinforcements.”
The Jaguars have been busy in free agency, adding defensive tackle Arik Armstead, center Mitch Morse, safety Darnell Savage and wideout Gabe Davis, among others. The position they haven’t addressed enough? Cornerback, where they added veteran Ronald Darby but could still require reinforcements to play on the other side of Tyson Campbell. I like the fit of Arnold in Jacksonville, as he took a major step forward in 2023, developing into a shutdown corner. He picked off five passes and allowed only four receptions of 20-plus yards as the nearest defender in coverage.
In Kiper’s mock, Arnold is the second cornerback off the board after the Indianapolis Colts took Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell at No. 15 overall.
Jeremiah agrees with both of those predictions. After sending Mitchell to the Colts with the No. 15 pick, he also forecasted Arnold to the Jaguars.
Arnold plays much faster than he timed at the NFL Scouting Combine (4.50 40-yard dash). He can line up inside and outside for Jacksonville.
Both Kiper and Jeremiah had three wide receivers — Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Rome Odunze — off the board in the top 10.
