B
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars won the night they stopped Golday from sliding. Grade: B.
by otterpop777 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 12 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Jaguars were there to profit. Jake Golday, the No. 62 name on the board, should have been long gone before the 100th overall pick.
Black has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. They will regret leaving linebacker for another day if the season turns on it. Small wins on the phones, but wins all the same.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
Zachariah Branch at the 62nd overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Taking A.J. Haulcy in the 81st pick is close to grand larceny; a safety that good had no business lasting this long. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Circle this one: Michael Taaffe at Round 3, Pick 28 is a fall that decides a draft. A need, and now a little less of one.
You do not let an edge rusher like Jake Golday reach pick No. 100 and blink. They did not. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They paid a round early for Jack Endries in slot 108, more than the board wanted. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Good price on Julian Neal in the Round 4 slot, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A straight-up fair deal on Kaleb Proctor at pick 129, value and slot in agreement. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Keagen Trost. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
By-the-book stuff, Kevin Coleman Jr. at pick No. 166 squarely in line with his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Kaelon Black in pick 203 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. It fills a real need, too.
Zavion Thomas at slot 240 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the wide receiver. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Noah Whittington is a better player than the Round 7 slot suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The roster fit checks out.