Navigate
    Andrew Erickson | Sun, Mar 22nd 2026, 8:11am EDT

2026 NFL Draft Team Needs & Predictions: Jaguars

Now we’re firmly in playoff territory.

Picks 21 through 24 belong to teams that either made a brief appearance in January or believe they’re one move away from doing so. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Jacksonville Jaguars (whose selection has been traded to the Cleveland Browns) all enter draft weekend with legitimate aspirations — but also identifiable areas that could derail those ambitions.

This isn’t about overhauling a roster.

It’s about refinement.

For some, that means adding a final defensive piece to survive elite quarterbacks in the postseason. For others, it’s about protecting a franchise passer, strengthening depth in the trenches, or preparing for looming contract extensions that could reshape the roster in 2027 and beyond.

The pressure here is different from that at the top of the board. These teams can’t afford developmental luxury picks. They need contributors. Snap-eaters. Playoff-caliber depth.

And because Jacksonville’s pick now belongs to Cleveland, the ripple effects extend beyond one franchise. A win-now team selecting here changes how the back half of Round 1 unfolds.

In this batch, we break down:

  • The biggest roster holes for each franchise
  • Contract situations and future cap implications
  • Which positions should be prioritized for veterans and rookies
  • Potential fantasy football implications

These are the teams that believe they’re close — and in this part of the draft, the right selection can be the difference between another early exit and a deep postseason run.

Up next: the Pittsburgh Steelers, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Jacksonville Jaguars (pick traded to Cleveland).

Salary cap contract information provided by Spotrac.

Pick 24: Jacksonville Jaguars

Team Needs: LB, EDGE, CB, WR, S

2026 Free Agent Key Losses:

LB Devin Lloyd, RB Travis Etienne, CB Greg Newsome, S Andrew Wingard

2026 Free Agents:

2027 Free Agents:

The Jaguars don’t have a first-round pick this year because of the Travis Hunter trade. All the offseason news has suggested that Jacksonville plans on using him as a full-time cornerback and part-time WR in 2026.

Hunter will be more deployed at CB than at WR based on the team’s current needs at the position (CBs Greg Newsome II and Christian Braswell are all on expiring contracts). Newsome left in free agency while Braswell was retained on a one-year deal.

Recall that the 2025 Jaguars offense took OFF without Hunter in the second half of the season.

Given that Dyami Brown was a major free agent flop (back to Washington) and Brian Thomas Jr. might get traded (lack of chemistry with Trevor Lawrence, despite the regime backing that he won’t be traded), the Jags might be in the market for another wide receiver. Parker Washington will be playing in a contract year after a breakout 2025 campaign.

But RB is definitely a bigger area they need to address. Travis Etienne is a free agent in 2026 (signed with the New Orleans Saints). They did draft two RBs in last year’s draft, likely knowing they could lose ETN on the open market.

The Jaguars RB coach is Chad Morton, who was in Chicago in 2024. Ties to D’Andre Swift. Liam Coen and many of his coaches also came from Tampa Bay, so Rachaad White could be an addition to this backfield.

However, it was neither of those veterans who landed in DUVAL. Instead, the Jags swooped in and signed former Commanders restricted free agent Chris Rodriguez. Two-year deal worth up to $12M. C-Rod reunites with his college OC, Liam Coen.

The current backfield is now comprised of Rodriguez, Bhashyul Tuten, and LaQuint Allen.

Obviously, a lot to shake out from a fantasy football perspective.

For starters, I don’t think Rodriguez can be simply brushed off, given his relationship with Coen. The Jags HC loves C-Rod’s toughness, tackle-breaking, consistency and finishing ability to get you the yards that are there/blocked for.

It’s apparent in a lot of the advanced rushing metrics for C-Rod, albeit on a smaller sample size.

  • 8th in yards after contact per attempt (2025)
  • 8th in rushing success rate (2025)
  • 1st in EPA/rush since 2024 per Tej Seth.
  • 1st in yards after contact per attempt since 2024 per Jared Smola.

But that basically ends the pro-argument for C-Rod.

I feel very strongly that Rodriguez is a total zero in the passing game (3 catches last season, six catches in his 3-year NFL career). And the goal-line role? I still think that’s Tuten’s role, given he was taking Etienne off the field in the red zone during his rookie campaign.

C-Rod is significantly worse RB than Etienne. I don’t think that’s up for any debate – despite what the advanced metrics might suggest.

And I’m going to be honest. I don’t even remember C-Rod being good at all last year, till the very end. And when I looked closer at some of his earlier game logs…pretty eye-opening, especially in the second half.

  • Week 9 versus Seattle was garbage time
  • Week 11? Miami Dolphins. At the time, a historically poor run defense.
  • Before the Week 12 bye week…C-Rod was a bottom-10 graded rusher per PFF. That includes the game versus Miami.
  • 60 carries, 5 missed tackles (second-fewest in the NFL).
  • Dead last in elusive rating (tied with Aaron Jones).
  • Week 18 Eagles rested their starters.

I talked ad nauseam how great the Commanders’ ROS schedule was for RBs in my weekly fantasy football piece in-season. C-Rod took advantage of defenses rolling over.

Keep in mind that C-Rod’s career profile looks pretty similar to Gus Edwards. Very strong yards per carry and yards after contact numbers (although Edwards had a much large sample size of rushing).

Rodriguez is a 26-year-old and former sixth-round pick who split backfield touches with a rookie 7th-rounder and Jeremy McNichols. He wouldn’t have sniffed the field if Brian Robinson Jr. hadn’t been traded last year. B-Rob is the definition of the “JAG” RB archetype, and Rodriguez was his backup’s backup to start the offseason.

He also hurt his shoulder and groin last year…which is potentially problematic given his physical style of play.

I think Coen’s love for C-Rod will be present during the offseason coachspeak, and perhaps he does have an annoying role to open the year. But when push comes to shove….Rodriguez is the quintessential “dead-zone, plodder, empty calorie, early down grinder” RB that coaches tend to move on from sooner rather than later.

But outside Etienne, the Jags don’t have many marquee FAs this offseason. Every other offensive starter is returning in some capacity from last season. The offensive line remains fully intact for 2026.

Defensively, as noted, CB needs help. Hence, the Hunter transition. Montaric Brown was re-signed for two years.

Safety Andrew Wingard and LB Devin Lloyd both left in FA, but the Jaguars have some in-house options at those positions if they move on. Still, Lloyd is coming off a career-year with 5 interceptions.

Wingard seems more replaceable with Antonio Johnson (2027 FA) and Eric Murray as capable free safety options.

On the defensive line, the Jaguars’ run defense was No. 1 in the NFL in 2025. Clearly, there’s not much need to bolster the defensive interior. Two of their top interior defenders will be FAs in 2027.

I’d probably label EDGE slightly over DT (pass rush from either the interior or outside). Arik Armstead is in the last year of his deal and will be 33 this year.

According to PFF, Jacksonville’s defensive interior ranked second-lowest in pass-rush productivity (6.1) across the NFL, with Armstead producing the lowest PFF pass-rush grade of his career (63.1).

The Jags were 27th in sacks in 2025.

Subscribe: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | iHeart | Castbox | Amazon Music | Podcast Addict | TuneIn

    Recent News

  1. Fantasy Baseball Primer: Starting Pitchers Rankings & Tiers (2026)
  2. Fantasy Baseball Cheat Sheet: Power & Speed Categories (2026)
  3. Updated Fantasy Baseball Closer Report (2026)
  4. Fantasy Baseball Primer: Multi-Position Players Rankings & Tiers (2026)