Jacksonville’s decision with the No. 1 pick isn’t nearly as clear-cut as it was in 2021 this time around. There’s no clear top, can’t-miss prospect, and the Jaguars have a lot of needs across the field.
Three names have come up for this pick more than others: A talented pair of edge rushers in Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson and Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, as well as Alabama tackle Evan Neal. However, the latest mock for the 2022 NFL draft from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has the team ignoring all three of those players.
Brugler has the team addressing the offensive line, but instead of taking Neal, he has the team selecting North Carolina State’s Ikem Ekwonu, a tackle who some have above Neal on the board.
After numerous conversations with NFL scouts and league execs in preparation for this mock, there were two key takeaways that led me to Ekwonu here. First, there are several evaluators around the league who have Ekwonu ranked higher than Alabama’s Evan Neal and Mississippi State’s Charles Cross. Second, several evaluators agreed that in a draft class missing a no-brainer top prospect, they prefer the tackles over the pass rushers. I have no clue how the Jaguars feel, but Ekwonu at least belongs in this conversation.
A three-year starter at NC State, Ekwonu has impressive movements for his size and generates extraordinary explosion at contact. He lacks refinement and is guilty of over-setting, but he is nimble, powerful and should get better and better as his technique and awareness mature. Ekwonu’s tape shows a tackle who can also play guard, not the other way around. For more on Ekwonu, this deep dive from Bruce Feldman is a great read.
Neal has been considered one of the better tackle prospects in recent years given his size and versatility, but it seems that Ekwonu may be gaining the edge among NFL scouts. Regardless, a decision to take an offensive lineman could be seen by some fans as an unexciting pick given where the team is selecting, but if there are concerns about the edge rushers (which seems to be the case) going with a long-term option to protect quarterback Trevor Lawrence could be a good call.
Neal has long been considered the top tackle in the class, and Ekwonu will likely need good showings at his pro day, and the NFL combine to have a chance at unseating the former on the majority of draft boards, but his rising stock only makes a difficult decision even trickier for the Jags.
