The Jacksonville Jaguars will have a significant pick in the NFL Draft in 2024. In the April draft, Jacksonville will have nine picks total, plus additional picks in the fourth and sixth rounds. The Jaguars will also need to maximize those picks following a dismal 9-8 season in 2023. As a result, during the offseason, we will stay up to date on significant mock drafts from draft experts.
This time, we look at Benjamin Solak of The Ringer’s most recent projections and the player he believes the Jaguars should select at No. 17 overall to strengthen their trenches.
The Jaguars are bolstering their trenches with this pick, as many fans have demanded and will continue to do. But this time, it comes from Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphu, who plays on the defensive side of the ball.
“The Jaguars definitely need to figure out this year’s interior defensive line class; defensive tackle was their weakest position once DaVon Hamilton went down, and the lack of interior penetration made it more difficult for any edge rusher other than Josh Allen to produce. Murphy fits the role and mold that Ryan Nielsen, the new defensive coordinator, has preferred of his interior defensive linemen because he is a squatty but quick penetration player, according to Solak.
“The Jaguars definitely need to figure out this year’s interior defensive line class; defensive tackle was their weakest position once DaVon Hamilton went down, and the lack of interior penetration made it more difficult for any edge rusher other than Josh Allen to produce. Murphy fits the role and mold that Ryan Nielsen, the new defensive coordinator, has preferred of his interior defensive linemen because he is a squatty but quick penetration player, according to Solak.
The 21-year-old Murphy, a former four-star recruit, finished 2023 with five sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss, making him a second-team All-American and a top interior pass-rusher in college football. The Jaguars’ defense would undoubtedly benefit from this, especially in light of their lack of output at the position in 2023.
Only 4.5 sacks were recorded by the Jaguars’ interior defensive line in 2023; Adam Gotsis and Roy Robertson-Harris each contributed 3.5 of those sacks. Just 14 tackles for loss and 24 quarterback hits were totaled by Robertson-Harris, Gotsis, Hamilton, Foley Fatukasi, Angelo Blackson, Tyler Lacy, and Jeremiah Ledbetter combined. All season long, the squad’s inability to generate big plays was a problem, and that doesn’t even account for the run defense’s downturn.
The Jaguars had just one player ranked in the top 75 in terms of pass-rush win rate out of 152 interior defensive linemen who had at least 75 pass rushes in 2023: Robertson Harris, at position 75. With Fatukasi at No. 81, the Jaguars’ total was down to just two players in the top 130. According to Pro Football Focus, four players on the Jaguars are ranked in the bottom 22.
But it does raise questions about just how early and frequently Murphy would visit the field. Given their high cap numbers and projected 2024 start date, DaVon Hamilton and Roy Robertson-Harris may be better long-term investments than ones with immediate returns.
