- The Jaguars have several options for their No. 5 pick in the draft, including defensive tackle Mason Graham, offensive tackles Will Campbell or Armond Membou, or running back Ashton Jeanty.
- The Titans could significantly improve if they draft quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick.
- The Jaguars' new leadership must trust their own evaluation and not be swayed by outside opinions or mock drafts.
After mostly average to highly suspect drafting the last 25 years, the Jacksonville Jaguars have added a unique wild card in this year’s process that will hopefully provide a decision-making upgrade — Tony Boselli.
Owner Shad Khan, who has too often been reluctant to shake up his leadership structure, finally tried something different on Feb. 3 when he appointed the Jaguars’ Hall of Fame offensive tackle to Executive Vice-President of Football Operations, firing GM Trent Baalke midway through a coaching search.
For only the second time in franchise history, the first being when former NFL quarterback James “Shack” Harris and ex-linebacker Jack Del Rio were named GM and head coach, respectively, in 2003, the Jaguars made somebody with actual playing experience in the league a significant part of the NFL draft process.
In 2012, during Mike Mularkey’s lone season as head coach, the ex-NFL tight end primarily deferred to GM Gene Smith.
What makes Boselli especially unique, beyond being a Hall of Famer, is he’s been emotionally invested in the Jaguars almost his entire football career. Nobody who has ever occupied a front-office or coaching position in Jacksonville, including Tom Coughlin, comes into a position of power with more personal stakes than Boselli.
This EVP gig, though his impact on draft day remains an unknown X-factor, is as much his baby as for any non-player who has collected a Jaguars’ paycheck.
“I don’t think about it in those terms,” Boselli told the Times-Union about his influence on who the Jaguars end up drafting. “I don’t even know how to answer that.”
Boselli’s input will be valued
One thing is certain: Khan didn’t hire Boselli out of the Jaguars’ radio booth to the same position he did Coughlin back in 2017 for him to be a draft figurehead.
While Boselli concedes the final draft calls lie with GM James Gladstone, the feeling about the Jaguars’ leadership tripod strongly suggests this is a team willing to listen to each other and have their opinion changed on player evaluation and acquisition.
“I was involved in hiring the coaching staff,” said Boselli. “How much I helped or didn’t help, I have no idea. I just want to help make us better. Our job is to win games. That’s all I care about. Who gets the credit, I don’t care.
“In the NFL, we get so caught up in who has the final say. It’s clear in our organization that James makes the decision on who we draft, but we’re all working together to make the right decision.”
My belief is Boselli’s presence not only matters on draft-day decisions, but should carry greater weight with Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen when evaluating offensive linemen and defensive linemen because the Hall of Famer played alongside and against those players.
When Boselli is looking at game tape, and he’s done a lot more of it on college prospects than any time in his life, he understands the nuances of players in the trenches in a far different way than Gladstone or Coen.
At this point, it’s difficult to gauge the extent of Boselli’s influence on the draft and the Jaguars’ entire organization after less than three months on the job. But you can bet the input of No. 71, arguably the most popular player in franchise history with running back Fred Taylor, will be highly valued by Gladstone and Coen on matters big and small.
Tony Boselli has earned a high place at the Jaguars’ leadership table because of his remarkable playing career and being the team’s longtime lead ambassador.
Over the long haul, don’t be surprised if the franchise’s draft fortunes significantly improve because of it.
If not Mason Graham at 5, then who?
Had it not been for backup quarterback Mac Jones engineering back-to-back, fourth quarter scoring drives in a 10-6 December road win over the Tennessee Titans, the Jaguars would have finished 3-14 and been picking No. 1 in the first round of the April 24 NFL Draft.
Instead, Jacksonville finds itself in the No. 5 slot, where it’s difficult to find a slam-dunk selection. Unless Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter or Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter falls three or four spots to the Jaguars, there is not a no-brainer choice.
With Gladstone and Coen being purposely, and smartly, vague about their inclinations, the truth is the Jaguars have at least four different viable position options. They could go interior D-line, edge rusher, offensive tackle, and if you believe the speculation smoke, Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty.
Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham (6-foot-4, 306) might be the safest pick, though there remains debate from talent evaluators whether questions about his size should take precedent over his ability to make plays.
In NFL draft history, it’s ironic the best No. 5 pick was cornerback Deion Sanders, who was Hunter’s coach at Colorado.
On the longshot possibility that Hunter falls to No. 5, the Jaguars should make him a full-time cornerback and part-time receiver. For game-planning purposes, it’d be easier to utilize Hunter primarily as a defender than the other way around.
But if the Jaguars select offensive tackles Will Campbell (LSU) or Armond Membou (Missouri) over Graham, which isn’t out of the question, then you have to think Boselli had significant input.
Jeanty would be boldest pick
Is it possible the Jaguars would defy conventional wisdom and make Jeanty the fourth top-5 pick running back in the last decade, which includes Jacksonville’s Leonard Fournette at No. 4 in 2017?
While many question the proper value of the RB position, the truth is the dozen backs taken in the top 25 since 2015 have either had a minimum two 1,000-yard seasons or been to multiple Pro Bowls.
The difference with Jeanty is he’s the only back in that distinguished group who didn’t play at a Power 4 school. He faced only four Power 4 opponents the past two seasons with mixed results, and questions remain how Jeanty might hold up as a pass-protector.
That said, the Jaguars taking Jeanty can’t be dismissed because Coen’s one-year stint as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator shows how much he values a quality run game.
Plus, one of the best ways to make Lawrence a better QB is to pour resources into an effective ground attack, as the Jaguars did with O-line additions in free agency.
With the Jeanty-to-the-Jaguars scenario chatter amping up the past week, it's anybody's guess whether the interest is real. Or maybe Jacksonville is trying to leverage teams -- possibly the Chicago Bears at 10 or Las Vegas Raiders at 6 -- to trade up to acquire more draft capital
Jeanty (5-foot-9, 211 pounds) should have a solid NFL career, but is he worth a No. 5 pick? If so, he better be a lot closer to a Maurice Jones-Drew than Fournette.
Look out if Titans hit HR with Ward
At the moment, it’s safe to say the Tennessee Titans’ roster is the worst in the AFC South, but that can change quickly with one home run pick at the top.
If the Jaguars’ long-time rivals hit it big by taking University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick, that franchise’s fortunes could turn in a dramatically positive way.
Just look at what happened with the Houston Texans after they landed quarterback C.J. Stroud in 2023 with the No. 2 overall selection. All Houston has done is win back-to-back AFC South titles, albeit behind a shaky offensive line.
So imagine how difficult the Texans might be to deal with if Houston drafts some quality bodyguards to better protect Stroud.
The Titans taking Ward means the entire AFC South division would likely have starting quarterbacks in 2025 who were top-5 picks in the last four drafts.
It’s time for the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence to step up, with the help of Coen’s astute offensive mind, and start winning that high-profile QB race.
Forget mock drafts, mostly useless noise
Let’s be honest about who actually has draft expertise: it’s not people, media or otherwise, who start poring over college prospects after the Super Bowl because the draft is the most popular NFL offseason event.
Not only is draft speculation (at least after the top-10 picks) an inexact science, but all these mock drafts put out by armchair GMs or people not paid to study tape year-round is pretty much throwing darts blindfolded.
Just because somebody watches a prospect’s game tape, that doesn’t mean they understand how that player’s game translates to the next level or fits scheme-wise with any NFL team.
That’s why most mock drafts are just white noise, better to be ignored than taken seriously. Even the most dialed-in draft speculators correctly project only 5 to 12 first-round picks.
Drafting the right players is incredibly hard, especially after the first round. The only way the Jaguars or any team can have success is to do their best possible homework and hope they get lucky along the way.
Jaguars must trust their draft board
Sure, there might be some trepidation that Gladstone, Coen and Boselli have never been in these positions of power before, but they must trust their own judgment and that of the Jaguars’ scouts when making any draft call.
Looking back at the five previous drafts where the Jaguars had a new GM, including four times corresponding with a new head coach, only 1995 under coach/GM Tom Coughlin delivered reasonably good value, largely because of Boselli’s presence at the top.
GM James “Shack” Harris taking QB Byron Leftwich at No. 7 in 2003 was a meh pick. Gene Smith’s 2009 draft, leading off with tackle Eugene Monroe, was so-so at best, and none of the eight selections by Dave Caldwell in 2013 were much of a factor.
The 2021 draft with GM Trent Baalke, where he picked Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Tyson Campbell, Walker Little and Andre Cisco over the first two days, remains mostly a work in progress.
Now another new Jaguars’ regime hopes its initial draft class can help this struggling franchise produce a turnaround that leads to elusive sustained success.
They can’t worry about who others think they should draft. The Jaguars have to trust their own instincts from watching tape. Besides, everyone will know in two, three or four years whether this new leadership structure made the right call.
gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette
