2017 NFL Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars final draft grade
How did the Jacksonville Jaguars fare in the 2017 NFL Draft? For once, it might have been fairly fruitful.
The NFL draft has come and gone and now it is time for review. Of course, it will be easier to look back in a few years and really find out how these players fit and transitioned to their new roles. But as a whole, you can understand team philosophies and processes which deserve to be examined upon first glance. With that said, here is the Jacksonville Jaguars final grade.
Leonard Fournette
Running Back, LSU
When looking through mock drafts a realization set in that the Jaguars almost had to take Fournette. Their defense was absolutely loaded after a major improvement in 2016 and big signings and the thought of even bigger roles for some of the younger names they recently added. On offense, the wide receiver corps was not bad. It left offensive line, quarterback and running back.
On the offensive line, they have holes, but no one was worthy of a top ten pick, and the top lineman did not go until pick 20. At quarterback, they could have taken their shot, but they do have Blake Bortles for one more year. Given what is invested in Bortles the Jaguars decided to build everything around him to the point where if they fail it is 100 percent his fault.
Many will justify this pick saying Ezekiel Elliott was in the same spot last year. Elliott was on a complete offensive line and was much more complete and diverse as a runner than Fournette. The Jaguars get credit for hitting a need but may have reached for the player based on past production of a player who has nothing to do with this situation. Only time will tell if the Fournette gamble pays off.