Daniel Jeremiah feels that there are 2 NFL draft prospects in particular at pick No. 5 that fit well with what the Jaguars are looking for.
As we hear more from Jacksonville Jaguars’ GM James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen provide some insight into how they want to build this team, their processes, and what they value, there are two NFL draft prospects in particular that stand out to Daniel Jeremiah and check a lot of those boxes at pick No. 5.
Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Georgia linebacker and pass rusher Jalon Walker.
“As we come down the homestretch–and maybe I’m reading too much into it,” said Jeremiah on a recent conference call, “but when I listen to the guys in Jacksonville talk, and you listen to the head coach and the general manager discuss what they’re looking for in a player and they talk about a statement pick and the first pick of their new regime there and valuing the things that they’re valuing interms of the character, the competitiveness, allthose things, I’m like, golly, that sounds like two players to me. That sounds like Ashton Jeanty, and that sounds like Jalon Walker.”
We’ve often heard Gladstone use the phrase “intangibly rich” to describe the type of players he wants to bring into the organization, and two important elements within that sentiment are mental and physical toughness.
As Gladstone has said, by bringing in the right type of players with the right mindset and ones who fit well within the Jaguars’ organization, then by being nothing more than themselves, they will “level up the ecosystem.”
“When you look at our draft-day call sheet,” Gladstone said, “the items that we’re bucketing in that intangibly rich category are the largest, brightest number and color on our call sheet. It’s because that’s where we start.”
Knowing that these factors will be held in high regard when it comes to building out the Jaguars’ roster, as Jeremiah mentions, Jeanty and Walker fit that mold.
On the field, Jeanty would add another dynamic playmaking presence around Trevor Lawrence, and as Coen said recently, help balance things out around the quarterback so he doesn’t have to feel like he has to be Superman on every single play.
Within Coen’s offense specifically, a strong running game is vital, given how the run and passing concepts work hand-in-hand.
Walker, meanwhile, is an extremely versatile defender, able to play off-ball linebacker and rush the passer. As Lance Zierlein of NFL.com wrote in his scouting report, getting the most value out of Walker’s versatility could mean having him line up at linebacker on early downs and then be utilized as a pass rusher or a blitzer on passing downs.
So while mock draft after mock draft has the Jaguars taking Mason Graham at pick No. 5–and understandably so–keep your eyes on Jeanty and Walker, who not just on the field, but off of it, fit what Jacksonville is looking for.
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