The Jacksonville Jaguars spent many years giving their fans more reason to look at the updated draft order rather than the playoff picture. That’s not the case in 2023, though.
After four straight wins, the Jaguars are currently leading the AFC South.
But Jacksonville’s roster isn’t perfect either. What should the Jaguars do with their first round pick if they wind up picking near the tail end of the first round again?
Here’s a projection of what the first round of the 2024 NFL draft could look like with about six months until it begins in Detroit next April:
1
Chicago Bears (via Panthers): Caleb Williams, QB, USC
Maybe Tyson Bagent is the next Brock Purdy story. The likelier scenario is that the Bears will jump at the chance to take the top quarterback and prospect of the draft class if the Panthers gift them the No. 1 pick in April.
2
Arizona Cardinals: Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
If the Cardinals stick with Kyler Murray, there are plenty who think Marvin Harrison Jr. should be their pick. But No. 2 overall for a receiver is a little rich for my blood. The prototypical edge rusher makes more sense for such a premium selection.
3
Chicago Bears: Jared Verse, EDGE, Florida State
Similar to the last pick, the top of the draft class is where top pass rushers come off the board. The Bears, a team with no player with more than two sacks so far this year, could use someone like Verse.
4
Denver Broncos: Olumuyiwa Fashanu, OT, Penn State
There has been, and will continue to be, clamoring for the Broncos to ditch Russell Wilson. His contract doesn’t make that easy and it might not even make sense, regardless. Wilson has 13 touchdowns, four interceptions, and a 99 passer rating. Denver’s issues are up front on both sides of the ball.
5
New York Giants: Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
The Giants could be tempted to move on from Daniel Jones, but that’d be a hefty helping of dead money to take on. New York would be better served working to shore up what might be the NFL’s worst offensive line.
6
New England Patriots: Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
Maye might be too good to land on the outside of the top five picks. If there isn’t a bidding war for the No. 1 pick, Maye could cause one for No. 2. But in this scenario the Patriots get their Mac Jones replacement.
7
Green Bay Packers: Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State
The Packers have started to build a group of weapons around Jordan Love, but they don’t have a talent like Harrison in the receiver corps.
8
Los Angeles Chargers: Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama
The Chargers punted on their J.C. Jackson contract and could lose cornerback Michael Davis in free agency. Pairing McKinstry, the top cornerback of the class, with Asante Samuel Jr. would make for a great tandem in the Los Angeles secondary.
9
Tennessee Titans: Brock Bowers, TE, Georgia
The Titans need to stack up pass catchers for Malik Willis and/or Will Levis. How about a reliable, gigantic target like Bowers as the team transitions away from Ryan Tannehill?
10
New Orleans Saints: Chop Robinson, EDGE, Penn State
The Saints have one of the NFL’s most anemic pass rush units and they can’t count on having 34-year-old Cameron Jordan holding down a spot much longer.
11
Las Vegas Raiders: Bo Nix, QB, Oregon
It feels like Nix has been playing college football since the Bush administration. Along the way, he’s developed into a good looking NFL prospect. Unless the Raiders are smitten with Aidan O’Connell, there’s not much reason for them to not want to take a stab at the position.
12
Minnesota Vikings: Michael Penix Jr., QB, Washington
The Vikings moving on from Kirk Cousins seems like a foregone conclusion at this point. It only makes sense to line up Minnesota with the best quarterback still on the board.
13
Indianapolis Colts: Malik Nabers, WR, LSU
The Colts have reason to think they’ve found their quarterback of the future in Anthony Richardson Jr., even if a shoulder injury ended his rookie year early. Now it’s time to give him more weapons.
14
Washington Commanders: Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State
Sam Howell is on pace to be sacked close to 100 times this season. Maybe they’ll want to take a shot at quarterback, but it won’t matter who’s back there until there’s improvement up front.
15
Los Angeles Rams: Bralen Trice, EDGE, Washington
Even with a team-leading three sacks from rookie pass rusher Byron Young, the Rams have only 12 sacks through seven games and are clearly nearing the end of the Aaron Donald era.
16
Arizona Cardinals (via Texans): Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa
After taking a pass rusher earlier in the round, the Cardinals can give head coach Jonathan Gannon another defensive piece in DeJean, a playmaking cornerback with return ability too.
17
New York Jets: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington
Assuming Aaron Rodgers is back under center in 2024, the Jets offense would look pretty scary if Garrett Wilson was paired with Odunze.
18
Cincinnati Bengals: Graham Barton, OL, Duke
It’s tough to trust the Bengals to be a contender again so long as they struggle to protect Joe Burrow as much as they have. Barton may project better as a guard, but wherever he lines up, he’ll help Cincinnati.
19
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Keon Coleman, WR, Florida State
The Buccaneers have been rolling with the receiving duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin for quite a while and could use a little talent infusion to give their lackluster offense a boost.
20
Atlanta Falcons: Dallas Turner, EDGE, Alabama
Through seven weeks, 300-pound defensive lineman David Onyemata leads the Falcons in sacks with 2.5. There’s not much of a threat coming off the edge and Turner could change that.
21
Buffalo Bills: Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
The Bills are paying a ton of money for Stefon Diggs and probably don’t want to do the same to keep Gabe Davis. A cheaper solution would be to add a player like Egbuka in the draft.
22
Dallas Cowboys: JC Latham, OT, Alabama
After 13 years of Tyron Smith at left tackle, the stalwart is set to become a free agent in 2024 and his consistent injury concerns make a new deal in Dallas a tough sell. The Cowboys love to draft linemen and this is another good time to do it.
23
Pittsburgh Steelers: Kamren Kinchens, S, Miami (Fla.)
Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal haven’t done well on the back end of the Pittsburgh secondary so far this year. Kinchens could give the Steelers the rangy safety they need so they can let Minkah Fitzpatrick patrol closer to the line of scrimmage.
24
Houston Texans (via Browns): Jer'Zhan Newton, DL, Illinois
It seems the Texans nailed it earlier this year when they picked C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson Jr. Now they need to fill out the roster by adding size in the trenches.
25
Seattle Seahawks: Leonard Taylor, DL, Miami (Fla.)
There’s not a clear direction for the Seahawks to go next offseason and there’s a lot of questions left to be answered in the remainder of the year. Until then, a 305-pound bowling ball up front is never a bad choice.
26
San Francisco 49ers: Xavier Legette, WR, South Carolina
Good luck finding deficiencies on the 49ers’ roster. A team that already has everything could get a little bit better if it adds another weapon on the outside to complement Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.
27
Jacksonville Jaguars: Kris Jenkins, DL, Michigan
An offensive guard might be the Jaguars’ top priority in 2024, but without one who jumps out as a good value in the late first round, an interior defensive lineman makes sense.
Jacksonville has pass rushing issues, but will probably want to stick with the edge duo of Josh Allen and Travon Walker. Applying more push on the inside could help the sacks to start coming, though.
28
Baltimore Ravens: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
Nearly every defensive back on the Ravens’ roster is set to become a free agent in 2024. Wiggins has been as lockdown as corners get this season.
29
Detroit Lions: Josh Newton, CB, TCU
There aren’t many holes on the Lions’ roster, but the team could use more players in the secondary after adding Brian Branch earlier in 2023.
30
Miami Dolphins: Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
The Dolphins declined the fifth-year option on 2020 first-round pick Austin Jackson and the right tackle hasn’t given much reason for Miami to give him another contract. Mims could take over right away.
31
Kansas City Chiefs: Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
The Chiefs offense didn’t fall apart when Tyreek Hill got traded to the Dolphins, but the team is definitely lacking in reliable targets other than Travis Kelce. The speedy Worthy is exactly the type of pass catcher that Kansas City covets.
32
Philadelphia Eagles: T.J. Tampa, CB, Iowa State
It seemed like there was no way the Eagles would manage to keep both Darius Slay and James Bradberry last offseason, but they pulled it off. While both of those players will probably be on the roster in 2024, they’re also on the wrong side of 30.
