B
Jacksonville Jaguars
A masterclass at the trade table lands the Jaguars a B.
by Bryce k ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 3 steals
· 15 reaches
Nobody else had Jason Henderson anywhere near pick 247. The Jaguars did, by 137 spots, and that gap is the whole story.
Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck. That Rivers pick is the receipt they will wave around later.
They covered a lot of ground and still skipped interior defensive lineman, which is a strange place to end up.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
They reached a country mile for Gabe Jacas at Round 2, Pick 1, and the board is aghast. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Jacob Rodriguez at the 64th overall pick is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It fills a real need, too.
They paid up for Ted Hurst at pick 81 when waiting would have done the job. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Brian Parker II at the Round 3 slot is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
A real head-scratcher, Billy Schrauth in pick No. 89 is miles ahead of his ranking. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Kage Casey in the 124th pick says they were not listening. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They will replay Chandler Rivers at the Round 4 slot for years; that is how good the value is. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Drew Allar in slot 129, miles early. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The board had cheaper options than Kaytron Allen at pick 140, and it noticed. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They liked Eric McAlister enough to skip the value, taking him in the 191st pick. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Patrick Payton at Round 6, Pick 21 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
A conviction pick on Dalton Johnson at pick No. 203 that the board grades a round light. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Nolan Rucci at the 230th overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board had Chase Roberts higher than No. 231, and the wide receiver fell to them anyway. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A wild overpay on Eli Heidenreich in Round 7, Pick 16, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jason Henderson well ahead of where he belonged. The roster fit checks out.
Josh Moten in slot 252 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A big swing on Aidan Hubbard at No. 256, well ahead of any board in the building. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.