Trade Down, OL Still In Play For Jaguars At No. 1?
Hours away from the start of this year’s draft, pundits and fans alike find themselves surrounded by uncertainty at even the very top of the board. Many expect the decision facing Jacksonville at No. 1 to come down to their preference between Travon Walker and Aidan Hutchinson, but other options may still be in play. 
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reports that “the Jaguars are still hoping that they can find a path out of the top pick”. It has been known for a while that a number of teams set to pick in the top 10 – including the Jaguars – have been willing to move down, given the lack of surefire talent in this class. As Florio adds, however, they “continue to find no takers”.
Last week, it was reported that no one was calling Jacksonville regarding the top selection. This late in the game, the same appears to be true; most talk of movement within the top handful of teams relates to clubs wanting to add picks later on in the draft, rather than targeting specific prospects. Still, if the Jaguars remain split on their preference at No. 1, they would likely be amenable to any last-minute deal.
Meanwhile, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated adds that offensive line might be on the table for the team to consider when they are on the clock. He is “still not ruling out” a linemen (presumably Ikem Ekwonu or Evan Neal) being the team’s eventual choice. Jacksonville has been linked to the former during the run-up to the draft, but the multi-year extension just given to left tackle Cam Robinson further points towards Walker or Hutchinson.
Seven hours from now, the team’s ultimate decision will be known. Until then, speculation is likely to continue regarding the start of a highly intriguing draft year.
Jaguars, Cam Robinson Agree To Extension
The Jaguars have reached agreement on an extension with tackle Cam Robinson (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Robinson will receive a three-year deal worth $54MM, according to RapSheet (on Twitter).
[RELATED: Jaguars’ Shad Khan, Trent Baalke Disagree On No. 1 Pick?]
The 26-year-old was franchise tagged for the second straight year, guaranteeing that he would be in Jacksonville for at least the 2022 campaign. That tag bought the Jaguars some time, allowing them to negotiate a long-term arrangement up until the middle of the summer. Instead of waiting things out, they’ve pounced just before draft day.
Robinson has started all 61 games across his five years in Jacksonville, though he hasn’t performed as a top-tier tackle. Last year, his 67.4 PFF grade in 2021 placed him No. 48 out of 83 qualifying tackles. Still, the Jags went ahead with the $16.6MM tag, which would have slotted him eighth in terms of left tackle salaries. Now, they’ve followed it up with a whopping $18MM/year extension.
The Jaguars have already invested heavily in their offensive line, adding All-Pro guard Brandon Scherff to the interior. Now, they can apply their draft ammo elsewhere — starting with the No. 1 overall pick, where they could select Aidan Hutchinson or Travon Walker. Of course, they’ve long been expected to target one of those elite edge rushers, but North Carolina State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu was also said to be on their radar.
AFC Draft Notes: Chiefs, Jaguars, Texans, Steelers
We’re only two days away from the NFL Draft. Let’s take a look at some assorted draft notes out of the AFC:
- The Chiefs are armed with 12 selections in the upcoming draft, including picks No. 29 and No. 30. According to Albert Breer of SI.com, Kansas City’s front office has started to call teams in the 20s about trading up. Breer opines that a potential deal could precede a second trade up the draft board.. Breer speculates that the Chiefs could be eyeing one of the league’s top receivers, but he also cautions that the front office could make “an aggressive move” for a cornerback or pass-rusher.
- We can add two more teams to the list of Trevor Penning suitors. According to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com, the Titans and Chiefs are among the teams being mentioned as landing spots for the Northern Iowa left tackle. Kansas City would likely have to trade up in order to acquire the lineman. The Ravens, Titans, and Panthers have previously been linked to Penning.
- Four prospects are believed to be in play for the Jaguars at No. 1 overall, but ESPN’s Todd McShay is hearing a lot of buzz around Georgia edge rusher Travon Walker. Sources believe the Jaguars prefer Walker’s “upside and traits” over Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson‘s “proven production, motor, and leadership.”
- The Texans are high on Ohio State wide receiver Garrett Wilson, according to McShay. However, the Texans won’t take the wideout at No. 3, and they’d probably have to trade up from No. 13 in order to select Wilson. If that ends up being an unrealistic path, McShay could also envision the Texans trading out of the No. 13 spot.
- The first QB off the board could end up going to the Steelers at No. 20, according to McShay. Pittsburgh is apparently eyeing Liberty’s Malik Willis, and the signal-caller could end up falling in their lap. However, the reporter seems to be cautioning that the Steelers may not be able to pull off “a Bill Belichick” (referring to last year’s Mac Jones pick), meaning the front office may have to trade up if they want Willis.
Jaguars’ Shad Khan, Trent Baalke Disagree On No. 1 Pick?
Four prospects are believed to be in play for the Jaguars at No. 1 overall, but it might be a matchup between two defensive ends by the time the top decision-makers huddle up for their final decision this week.
Shad Khan will observe the Trent Baalke– and Doug Pederson-led operation’s deliberations this week, Albert Breer of SI.com notes, and the longtime Jaguars owner said he has an opinion on which way the team should go at No. 1. Khan’s opinion appears to be that Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson is the way to go, per Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com, who adds Baalke is backing Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker.
Despite his college production dwarfing Walker’s, Hutchinson now trails the size-speed freak in pre-draft odds to be the top pick. The Walker-Jaguars connection has persisted for several weeks now. Khan has held roster control in the past, and it would not surprise if the 10th-year Jags owner pulled the trigger on his preferred player. Khan would obviously prefer the room forms a consensus and intimated to Breer that Pederson and Baalke have control over the football operation.
“Yeah, I have an opinion,” Khan said, via Breer, of the No. 1 pick. “I do have an opinion. We are supposed to get together on Wednesday, and so I don’t have as firm a decision as I did maybe last year, but I do have it. I think we’ll have to really firm up the draft board, so we have clarity on all the permutations and combinations we’re gonna hit.”
During Pederson’s tenure, the Eagles devoted significant resources to bolstering their offensive line. The new Jags HC may not be opposed to such a strategy this year, despite this draft’s bevy of high-end D-line prospects. The Jags were connected to Ikem Ekwonu early in the pre-draft process, before franchise-tagging Cam Robinson for a second time, and Breer hears Baalke is a fan of the North Carolina State O-lineman. Ekwonu remains in play for the Jags at 1, ESPN.com’s Matt Miller tweets.
The team is rumored to be close on a Robinson extension, and Jawaan Taylor has started at right tackle in Jacksonville for the past three years. Pro Football Focus, which graded Jacksonville’s O-line 24th overall last season, viewed Taylor as the team’s weakest link up front in 2021. Of course, no Jaguar blocker graded particularly well here. Jacksonville added Brandon Scherff but could upgrade at its other guard spot. Ekwonu played tackle and guard in college; some view guard as his better NFL position.
Multiple Teams Looking To Trade Down In Draft
The defining characteristic of this year’s draft class is the lack of bluechip prospects at the top of the board. As a result, a number of teams have expressed a willingness to trade down from even the highest draft slots towards the middle of the first round or later. 
Days away from the first round, ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirms that the desire to move back still remains (Twitter link). “Multiple teams”, as he states, have called others currently slated to pick outside of the top half of the opening round regarding trade scenarios. Not surprisingly, however, “the interest in moving back… has greatly exceeded the interest in moving up”.
The Jaguars have been named amongst the teams looking to trade down, though they have yet to receive offers for the top pick. The Lions have made it known they would be willing to cede the second overall selection; given the lack of quarterbacks worthy of that slot, however, it is also unlikely they will move down. That has turned attention to the trio of teams who each hold two picks in the top half of the round.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio recently spoke about the possibility of moving either the third or 13th overall selections. The latter seems to be the far likelier target for a team looking to move up, pointing further to the possibility of the top 10 remaining as-is come Thursday night. The two key teams with respect to those initial 10 picks are the Jets and Giants; Big Blue may have an incentive to move down from No. 7 for, among others, financial reasons, but both teams could stand to add impact rookies across a number of positions with their respective selections.
Overall, draft day trades will, as always, be a key storyline to watch. It won’t come as a surprise, though, if there are fewer of them on Day 1 than in previous years.
Jaguars Nearing Extension With Cam Robinson?
As the draft draws closer, many continue to believe the Jaguars will use the No. 1 pick on an edge rusher. While there are a pair of offensive line prospects who could also be in consideration, the presence of left tackle Cam Robinson could turn their attention away from the likes of Evan Neal or Ikem Ekwonu. 
[RELATED: Jaguars Considering Four Prospects At No. 1]
Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline reports that “the Jags are close to signing [Robinson] to a long-term extension”. The 26-year-old was franchise tagged for the second time last month, guaranteeing that he would be in Jacksonville for at least the 2022 campaign. He has started all 61 games he has played in across five seasons in Duval County.
His level of play during that span, however, left many believing the tag would be a short-term move to buy time for a replacement. His 67.4 PFF grade in 2021 ranked 48th out of 83 qualifying tackles, far lower than where his compensation ranks at the position. The $16.6MM value of the tag would put him in a tie for eighth in terms of left tackle salaries, if he were to remain unsigned beyond 2022.
Pauline further states that “an announcement could come soon” regarding a new deal for Robinson. If that were to happen, it would give the team more certainty along an offensive line which has added All-Pro guard Brandon Scherff this offseason. It would also increase the chances of either Aidan Hutchinson or Travon Walker hearing their name called first on Thursday even further.
No Teams Calling About No. 1 Pick
For the first time since maybe 2013, there is no consensus on who will be the number one overall pick in the NFL Draft. There is such a lack of certainty on who the best available player of the 2022 NFL Draft is that Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke told the media that not one NFL team has “called directly to trade for the No.1 overall pick,” according to Cameron Wolfe of NFL Network.
2021 was “Tank for Trevor.” 2020 saw Joe Burrow set the football world on fire. There were certainly doubts, but Kyler Murray was expected to join Kliff Kingsbury in Arizona almost two months before the Draft. In 2018, everyone knew the Browns needed a quarterback and it became clearer and clearer as the Draft approached that Baker Mayfield was their man. Myles Garrett was far and away the best available according to analysts in 2017. 2016 saw the Rams and Eagles trade into the 1 & 2 spots to draft Jared Goff and Carson Wentz. The Buccaneers famously tanked in 2015 for Jameis Winston, with Marcus Mariota as the clear No. 2. Finally, Jadeveon Clowney was an easy selection for the Texans in 2014.
2013, though, had most analysts thinking the Chiefs, who desperately needed offensive tackle help, would take Texas A&M star Luke Joeckel. Instead the Chiefs went with the tackle out of Central Michigan, making Eric Fisher the first MAC player ever to be drafted No. 1 overall. Nine years ago, analysts held very little certainty of even what position the Chiefs would select, with most thinking one of the two offensive tackles, some thinking defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, some thinking linebacker Alec Ogletree, and some even entertaining the possibility that Kansas City might bring in West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith to compete with the newly acquired Alex Smith.
This is the first offseason since then that we’ve seen true cluelessness across the board less than a week out from the Draft. This Draft lacks something that all of those previous Drafts had: a clear player of need that at least one team in the NFL is willing to go all out to get. Many names have been mentioned at number one overall from Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux in the preseason to Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson post-Ohio-State-game to Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker post-Combine. The Draft’s two best offensive linemen, Alabama’s Evan Neal and NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu, both have heard rumors around their names at some point in the pre-Draft process. Baalke, himself, told the media that they were considering four players, leading to speculation that Hutchinson, Walker, Neal, and Ekwonu are the four in question.
That’s what makes this Draft so interesting. Charles Davis of NFL Network called this year’s Draft “even more unpredictable than usual.” Not only is there no team willing to pound the table and jump up to select a player they can’t live without, but even the team that is stuck at number one needs a four-sided coin to flip. The first round of the 2022 NFL Draft airs at 8 p.m. ET this upcoming Thursday, April 28th.
Draft Rumors: Stingley, Jaguars, Alabama, Cine, Burks
According to Matt Miller of ESPN, Derek Stingley, Jr. is the hottest name in the 2022 NFL Draft right now. The LSU cornerback has long been considered one of the top-two cornerback prospects available, along with Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner. Miller claims that Stingley is trending as high as the top-three with the Lions or Texans rumored to be interested in him at No. 2 or 3 overall.
After a stellar freshman season, Stingley was easily viewed as the best cornerback that would be available by the 2022 Draft. But, after a subpar 2020 season and only appearing in three games last year, combined with another stellar season from Gardner, NFL teams have allowed a bit of room for Gardner to challenge as the best corner on the board. The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has Gardner ranked as the third-best prospect overall with Stingley at 15th, while Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Gardner at fifth overall with Stingley at 14th. Miller, though, seems to think Stingley won’t make it past the Seahawks at 9th overall on Thursday night.
Here are a few more notes for the upcoming Draft, starting with some speculation down in Duval:
- Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke let it be known on Friday that Jacksonville is considering four players for their number one overall draft pick this Thursday, according to Charean Williams of NBC Sports. Many mock drafts have them going with Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson or Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker, but they’ve also had their name attached to Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal and NC State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu. It’s hard to imagine any other names entering the conversation for Jacksonville’s top pick.
- On their postseason run last year, college football powerhouse Alabama lost two of their top pass catchers in two of the biggest games of their season. John Metchie tore his ACL in the team’s SEC Championship victory over Georgia on December 4th. A little over a month later, Jameson Williams tore his ACL in the team’s National Championship game loss to Georgia on January 10th. According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic, the two are progressing impressively in their recoveries, with that opinion being echoed by the NFL teams who have looked into their medical information. They may both be on track to play in the upcoming season, depending on how conservative of a team they end up with. The important thing, though, is that, while their stock may have been affected a bit by injury, they are both fully expected to hear their names called next week.
- Georgie safety Lewis Cine visited with the Buccaneers this week, according to Jenna Laine of ESPN. Cine led the Bulldogs in tackles and passes broken up for the season last year en route to being named the defensive MVP of the team’s National Championship victory over Alabama. According to Laine, when asked if signing Logan Ryan and Keanu Neal precluded them from drafting a safety, Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht simply replied, “No.”
- According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Arkansas wide receiver Treylon Burks added two more teams to his list of visits earlier this week. Burks met with the Bears and Cardinals as he continues to trend in the first round. Read more about Burks in his NFL Draft Prospect Profile here.
Jaguars Expected To Hire 49ers’ Ethan Waugh As Assistant GM
The Jaguars are expected to hire a key 49ers executive to be Trent Baalke‘s right-hand man. Ex-Baalke 49ers lieutenant Ethan Waugh is on track to be the Jaguars’ next assistant GM, Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com tweets.
Baalke has offered Waugh the job, and Wagoner adds the former is expected to join Jacksonville’s front office after the draft. Waugh has been with the 49ers for 17 years, some of those coming during Baalke’s GM run in San Francisco.
Waugh works as the 49ers’ vice president of player personnel, being promoted earlier this offseason. He joined the 49ers as an assistant and became an area scout in 2008. Under Baalke’s leadership, Waugh rose to the title of senior personnel coordinator. Prior to his most recent promotion, Waugh served as the 49ers’ college scouting director.
An assistant GM bump will be a nice boost for Waugh, who will be a key player in helping craft the latest Jaguars rebuild effort. With Urban Meyer gone after less than a year, Baalke is leading the way here. It remains to be seen if the team’s Rick Spielman connections will produce a hire. Nothing has emerged on that front in several weeks. Spielman interviewed for an executive VP position that would outrank Baalke, but the former Vikings GM has not been hired. He later interviewed for the Steelers’ GM position. Waugh’s hire does not necessarily stonewall a Spielman addition, with a separate report indicating Shad Khan was looking to hire an exec to work above Baalke in addition to a key staffer below the GM level.
This will represent another personnel loss for the 49ers, who lost Martin Mayhew in 2021; Mayhew is now Washington’s GM. The 49ers have also seen Adam Peters and Ran Carthon receive GM interviews, though both remain on staff.
Jaguars Hoping To Trade No. 1 Pick?
Picking first overall for a second straight year, the Jaguars have been linked to a few players in a draft that does not appear to feature a surefire top talent. The perception around the league points the Jags to a trade, but no needle-moving offer may materialize.
An NFL scouting director informed SI.com’s Albert Breer “everyone knows” Jaguars GM Trent Baalke would prefer to trade down. Connected to either Aidan Hutchinson or fast-rising prospect Travon Walker at No. 1, the Jags still enter this draft as a team with several needs — despite their free agency binge. A move down the board would enable the rebuilding team to add more picks to address them.
However, a sufficient offer has not yet arrived. And a report earlier this offseason indicated teams have not shown much interest in moving up to No. 1. This draft may feature the least desirable top pick since 2013, a draft that saw one quarterback taken in Round 1 and the top 10 produce several busts. This may lead to Jacksonville sticking at No. 1. Breer and ESPN.com’s Todd McShay have Hutchinson going first overall, while NFL.com’s Peter Schrager mocks Walker to the Jags.
A Georgia defensive end capable of playing inside as well, Walker has been connected to the Jags at multiple junctures this offseason. Though, Hutchinson — the second-place Heisman finisher after a dominant senior season at Michigan — is viewed as the safer choice, with Walker’s production not in the same realm as the ex-Wolverine’s. Baalke is sensitive to the Jags’ current reputation, per Breer, who adds this may influence the veteran exec to play it safer at 1.
The team has also done extensive work on this draft’s top offensive tackles, despite having franchise-tagged Cam Robinson, Breer notes. It would surprise if the Jags tagged Robinson and still chose a tackle, but they have used first-round picks on defensive linemen in four of the past seven drafts. Regardless of how Jacksonville proceeds, this draft looks set to begin with more uncertainty than the drafts of the past several years.