Latest / Jags A.M. / Ep. 66: All in on Offense or All in on Defense? | Jags A.M. Podcast

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Ep. 66: All in on Offense or All in on Defense? | Jags A.M. Podcast · Jags A.M.

0:16
Speaker 1: Welcome to Jags and today I'm ka Nannie Stevens here
0:19
Speaker 1: with Brian Sexton and John oserhold bands back together. We're
0:21
Speaker 1: a little over two weeks out from the NFL Draft
0:24
Speaker 1: and we're still trying to predict what the Jags are
0:27
Speaker 1: going to do with their first round pick. Let's start
0:29
Speaker 1: out with our big things today, lasting impressions around this
0:33
Speaker 1: time of year, there's some makeup pro days, there's top
0:35
Speaker 1: thirty visits. Brian, this is the time of year that
0:38
Speaker 1: draft picks can make their last impression on teams and
0:41
Speaker 1: coaches and they kind of finalize their big boards around
0:44
Speaker 1: this time of year. Brian, What can kind of swing
0:46
Speaker 1: a vote this time of year when you're meeting with
0:48
Speaker 1: draft picks.
0:49
Speaker 2: Well, it depends on what the team wants to accomplish,
0:51
Speaker 2: Tai with their thirty visits, right, you get your top
0:54
Speaker 2: thirty visits and your boy is set.
0:56
Speaker 3: By this point, they've come.
0:57
Speaker 2: Back and now they're just looking to polish some grades
1:00
Speaker 2: up and see whether a guy is really in front
1:02
Speaker 2: of another guy that perhaps they talked to with the combine,
1:05
Speaker 2: or whether a guy doesn't fit their system, how he
1:09
Speaker 2: performs when he comes in, if they put him on
1:11
Speaker 2: a whiteboard. This is about where a guy fits and
1:15
Speaker 2: within the space of three or four spaces, not dramatic
1:19
Speaker 2: moves up or back. And of course also you could
1:21
Speaker 2: be talking about where you might be interested in moving
1:24
Speaker 2: perhaps in the first or second round, and you might
1:26
Speaker 2: be looking at guys who can give you an impression
1:29
Speaker 2: about yeah, it's worth moving back. I suspect that was
1:32
Speaker 2: part of the visit with Anton Harrison last year when
1:34
Speaker 2: he came in, making sure that if they moved back.
1:37
Speaker 3: They had a guy they were interested in.
1:39
Speaker 4: But yeah, as far as the thirty visits, you're not
1:41
Speaker 4: just talking about thirty first round picks coming in. You're
1:43
Speaker 4: talking about him going all through some fifth round, sixth
1:47
Speaker 4: round guys. It's mainly kai a matter of, look, we
1:51
Speaker 4: like these guys, but you're also thinking about investing in
1:54
Speaker 4: these guys. And it's a chance there's not as much
1:58
Speaker 4: time one on one with these guys at combines and
2:01
Speaker 4: Pro Day's and senior bowls whatever to really get a
2:06
Speaker 4: great feel for who he is. So this is that
2:10
Speaker 4: last chance to sort of bring a guy in. And
2:12
Speaker 4: if you're not sure about one guy versus the other,
2:14
Speaker 4: if they're close, sometimes you just get a vibe for
2:17
Speaker 4: a guy of Hey, this guy didn't like football as
2:19
Speaker 4: much as I like, or this guy is just not
2:21
Speaker 4: going to be quite a culture fit. So you're trying
2:24
Speaker 4: to get a lasting impression. It's the last stage of
2:26
Speaker 4: the job.
2:26
Speaker 3: Interview Brian Well, and I can give you an example.
2:28
Speaker 2: In nineteen ninety seven, the Jaguars brought in a defensive
2:31
Speaker 2: tackle from Cornell and named Seth Payne, and they had
2:33
Speaker 2: seen him on tape and they'd interviewed him, but they
2:36
Speaker 2: wanted more time to make sure where he fit. They
2:39
Speaker 2: took him in the fourth round, and they wanted to
2:41
Speaker 2: make sure that this was a guy that they liked,
2:44
Speaker 2: and if he was going to go in the third,
2:46
Speaker 2: did they like him enough to move up into the
2:48
Speaker 2: third and grab him. And that's what they discovered when
2:51
Speaker 2: he was here, was this is a guy they wanted.
2:53
Speaker 3: They thought they knew.
2:54
Speaker 2: Where he was going to go, but based on his
2:56
Speaker 2: visit and their interviews and the time they spent with Seth,
2:59
Speaker 2: they knew they'd make the move up around if they
3:02
Speaker 2: had to.
3:02
Speaker 3: They wanted him that badly.
3:04
Speaker 1: Still time to affect some of those decisions on those
3:07
Speaker 1: top thirty visits. Our second big thing today is trade talks. John,
3:10
Speaker 1: we talked a little bit about trades last week what
3:12
Speaker 1: we thought could go down. Do you have an inkling
3:14
Speaker 1: whether trading up or trading back could be more possible.
3:18
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I've been doing this thirty years, trying
3:21
Speaker 4: to predict a draft day trade. You know, some people
3:25
Speaker 4: predicted because they get lucky. You know, I'd be surprised
3:30
Speaker 4: if they moved up. But I'm always kind of surprised
3:33
Speaker 4: at a draft day trade because you just don't know
3:36
Speaker 4: beforehand what they're thinking. This might be a year to
3:40
Speaker 4: try to do it because the end of the draft,
3:43
Speaker 4: everybody you talk to deep in the draft six seventh round.
3:48
Speaker 4: It's one of the not deepest or shallowest, if you will,
3:52
Speaker 4: drafts in a long long time. So if you can
3:54
Speaker 4: get somebody to trade draft equity, you know, to take
3:59
Speaker 4: your draft equity and move up, go do it this year.
4:02
Speaker 3: But that can often be tough. Kadam Pardon, Well, it's
4:05
Speaker 3: not to predict. But if you look at the.
4:07
Speaker 2: Last two years, Trent Bulkey moved up into the first
4:10
Speaker 2: round two years ago to grab Devin Lloyd, and then
4:13
Speaker 2: last year he strategically kept backing up to the spot
4:16
Speaker 2: where he thought he would get Anton Harrison. So clearly
4:19
Speaker 2: he's got guys that he's identified and he wants to
4:22
Speaker 2: be able to maneuver to get the best value. That's
4:25
Speaker 2: really the key word, get value for the pick. If
4:27
Speaker 2: the guy you want is there, you can take him,
4:30
Speaker 2: but you also might be able to move into a
4:32
Speaker 2: position where you grab a couple of other picks.
4:35
Speaker 3: So we'll see what he does.
4:36
Speaker 2: The interesting part is in this draft is from what
4:39
Speaker 2: I hear, there's about fourteen or fifteen guys that have
4:43
Speaker 2: legitimate first round grades. So if one of those guys
4:46
Speaker 2: starts sliding to a position where Trent thinks I got
4:49
Speaker 2: to go get him, well, then maybe it's worth the
4:51
Speaker 2: draft capital to go up and get him.
4:53
Speaker 1: Trades are always on the table, so we'll keep an
4:55
Speaker 1: eye on that for sure. Our final big thing today
4:58
Speaker 1: is keeping taste. You don't like to look across the
5:00
Speaker 1: street a lot, but we do have to mention what's
5:01
Speaker 1: been going on in the AFC South, what the Titans
5:04
Speaker 1: have done with free agency, what the Texans did last
5:06
Speaker 1: year and now in additions in free agency, specifically adding
5:10
Speaker 1: Steffon Diggs recently to the wide receiver corps, Brian, there's
5:13
Speaker 1: a lot being made of the other teams in the division.
5:16
Speaker 1: Have the Jags have done enough so far?
5:18
Speaker 3: Well?
5:18
Speaker 2: And I think the Jaguars have to focus on themselves
5:20
Speaker 2: and to figure out where their deficiencies are. And we
5:23
Speaker 2: know that they have to get better at corner. It
5:26
Speaker 2: highlights the issue at corner. Stefan Diggs, Right, You bring
5:31
Speaker 2: in a wide receiver like that, and all of a
5:33
Speaker 2: sudden you're like, okay, and we know Calvin Ridley is
5:36
Speaker 2: in Tennessee, and so you say.
5:37
Speaker 3: Well, we've got to get better at corner.
5:39
Speaker 2: But if the right corner's not there, if you can't
5:42
Speaker 2: move to get the right corner, you can't panic. You
5:45
Speaker 2: can't just go and say, well, we've got to have
5:46
Speaker 2: a corner because of the other receivers that are now
5:48
Speaker 2: in this division. Strategically, you want to build to be
5:51
Speaker 2: able to compete with the teams in your division, so
5:53
Speaker 2: you're going to.
5:54
Speaker 3: Go looking for corners.
5:55
Speaker 2: But you can't have a knee jerk John and say, well, look,
5:57
Speaker 2: we've got better receivers in the division.
5:59
Speaker 3: We now have to take a corner.
6:01
Speaker 2: There are good pass rushers, there are good players at
6:04
Speaker 2: all positions in this division.
6:06
Speaker 3: You better have a well rounded team. Yeah, I'm in
6:08
Speaker 3: the minority on this.
6:09
Speaker 4: I don't ever worry that much about what other teams
6:13
Speaker 4: in the division you're doing, because my thought is always
6:16
Speaker 4: you be the team they have to be. You know,
6:19
Speaker 4: if you lose to you know, if you build to
6:21
Speaker 4: beat a team in your division, beat them twice and
6:23
Speaker 4: beat nobody else, or you're two and fifteen. So look,
6:27
Speaker 4: I'm exaggerating that a little bit, but I do get
6:30
Speaker 4: But their corner need to me, has nothing to do
6:33
Speaker 4: with Stefan Diggs. It's looking at your own roster and
6:36
Speaker 4: realizing you need corners for now and in the future.
6:39
Speaker 4: So I guess I'm out of stat No, I'm as usual.
6:44
Speaker 2: Well, listen, I think you have to ask yourself the question. Also,
6:46
Speaker 2: why do the Bills let Stefan Diggs go? People don't
6:49
Speaker 2: they don't, they don't. They don't factor that in. They say, well,
6:53
Speaker 2: Stefan Diggs is a great player. Now, he's a great
6:55
Speaker 2: player in Houston, but Buffalo is taking a significant cap
6:58
Speaker 2: hit on him. He's a thirty one year old receiver.
7:00
Speaker 2: They're willing to let him go despite the fact that
7:02
Speaker 2: they've got this quarterback that has an obvious rapport with him,
7:06
Speaker 2: So ask yourself the question, why are they willing to
7:08
Speaker 2: let him go? Maybe he's not the same player that
7:11
Speaker 2: we all thought he was. See, you can't build your
7:14
Speaker 2: team based on that, which is what John was just saying.
7:17
Speaker 2: You've got to focus on I better be better at
7:18
Speaker 2: corner because I'm not good enough at corner, and don't
7:21
Speaker 2: worry about all the intricacies of what Tennessee, Indianapolis and
7:24
Speaker 2: Houston do.
7:25
Speaker 3: Just focus on you.
7:26
Speaker 1: You can't just build your team on paper. You got
7:28
Speaker 1: to play the games as well. So we'll see how
7:30
Speaker 1: things go with the draft and then of course next season.
7:32
Speaker 1: Stay with us here. We're going to look into the
7:34
Speaker 1: draft this week. We're looking at wide receiver prospects that
7:37
Speaker 1: could be headed to Jacksonville. Move the freight, Move the freight.
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8:04
Speaker 1: here in the Hyndai studios for Jags am as we
8:07
Speaker 1: get ready. We're about two weeks out from the draft now,
8:09
Speaker 1: so we're still trying to figure things out. We've kind
8:11
Speaker 1: of broken down a little. John and I went over
8:13
Speaker 1: cornerbacks last week because that's been a popular topic. And
8:16
Speaker 1: as we've heard, this year's wide receiver class is elite.
8:19
Speaker 1: So we're going to go over some of the possible
8:21
Speaker 1: prospects that could be headed to town. Some of these
8:24
Speaker 1: are going to go very high. We don't have Marvin
8:26
Speaker 1: Harrison Junior in here because I think that might be
8:27
Speaker 1: a little bit if we go that route, that's a
8:29
Speaker 1: whole different show we'll do. But let's look at some
8:31
Speaker 1: of the other options that are on the table within
8:34
Speaker 1: the first round. So there's two guys coming out of
8:36
Speaker 1: LSU Malik Neighbors, Brian Thomas Junior Johnson. One of them's
8:40
Speaker 1: gotten mocked to us a little bit that you've seen,
8:43
Speaker 1: I'm sure, and kind of physically like these are taller receivers,
8:48
Speaker 1: you know, something that we've seen. The team needs a
8:51
Speaker 1: little bit of kind of a jump ball guy. Is
8:53
Speaker 1: either of them the person that would be able to
8:55
Speaker 1: fill that role?
8:56
Speaker 4: It look really good. I mean Neighbors, I think, and
9:00
Speaker 4: you trade up might be a little bit of a
9:01
Speaker 4: pipe dream. He's you know, there are people who think
9:05
Speaker 4: it's very very close between Neighbors and Marvin Harrison Junior.
9:08
Speaker 4: So that'd be a great pick. I don't think they'll
9:12
Speaker 4: be in a position to get him unless they trade up.
9:15
Speaker 4: Everything you hear about Thomas is that not as developed.
9:19
Speaker 4: There are people who think he's being very overlooked, that
9:22
Speaker 4: he might be the guy out of this class to
9:25
Speaker 4: be as good.
9:25
Speaker 3: As any of them. You see him walk to the Jaguars.
9:28
Speaker 4: I personally would be very surprised if they went this
9:32
Speaker 4: route in round one, only because it's so deep.
9:35
Speaker 3: In the draft.
9:37
Speaker 4: To me, it still feels like corner and then receiver
9:40
Speaker 4: is so deep Brian that I think you're gonna see
9:43
Speaker 4: teams say, okay, I could get a receiver here, but
9:46
Speaker 4: I can also get it in the second round. Some years,
9:49
Speaker 4: that's sort of falling. This year at this position. I
9:52
Speaker 4: think it's a move that makes sense. You know, we
9:54
Speaker 4: often fall.
9:54
Speaker 2: Into the trap of just thinking first round and that
9:57
Speaker 2: only these guys, right Thomas Adounza, the kid from Washington
10:03
Speaker 2: neighbors that you mentioned in Marvin Harrison, are going to
10:05
Speaker 2: be star performers. But if you look around the league,
10:08
Speaker 2: you find that there are a lot of really good
10:10
Speaker 2: receivers who were taken second, third, fourth round. I would
10:15
Speaker 2: be surprised also if they use this pick at seventeen
10:18
Speaker 2: at wide receiver. Now, if there's a guy they love, right,
10:23
Speaker 2: I mean, if the a Doonzay kid fall somewhere where
10:26
Speaker 2: they feel like they can make a trade up, well,
10:28
Speaker 2: he's really good, so maybe you try to get up there.
10:32
Speaker 2: But the first round is about need and value meeting
10:35
Speaker 2: for you, right, the best available player at a position
10:37
Speaker 2: that you want. And we've seen we saw last year
10:41
Speaker 2: as Trent moved to a strategic spot to get the
10:44
Speaker 2: need that they wanted Anton Harrison. I just I can't
10:49
Speaker 2: see receiver being the first pick this year.
10:52
Speaker 3: Now.
10:52
Speaker 4: If it is, it's a very interesting philosophical thing they're
10:57
Speaker 4: doing if it is. If it is, then they're all
10:59
Speaker 4: in on offense, meaning they are going to outscore people
11:03
Speaker 4: and they are going to be a team that wins
11:06
Speaker 4: games thirty eight thirty one.
11:09
Speaker 3: I don't think.
11:12
Speaker 4: If I'm Ryan Nielsen and that happens, I go into
11:14
Speaker 4: a little ball because I think they need corner, and
11:18
Speaker 4: so to me, this feels like a draft that will
11:21
Speaker 4: be dictated at number seventeen more than a lot of
11:23
Speaker 4: drafts I've been around by Nie.
11:25
Speaker 3: I think you need corner well, and see I can make.
11:26
Speaker 2: The case for you going all in an offense and
11:29
Speaker 2: getting an offensive linement for number sixteen, right, I mean
11:32
Speaker 2: you've got to be all in to protect your quarterback.
11:35
Speaker 2: Everyone who's watching this, who watched the Jaguars last year
11:38
Speaker 2: know how often he got hit.
11:40
Speaker 3: And you've got two guys, and I get it.
11:42
Speaker 2: You love Cam Robinson and you have Walker Lilan and
11:44
Speaker 2: you don't need it this year, but next year you're
11:47
Speaker 2: going to because both of those guys contracts expire and
11:50
Speaker 2: this is a great year for offensive tackle.
11:52
Speaker 3: So I get the idea of corner.
11:55
Speaker 2: I totally get that idea, and I'm ninety percent of
11:58
Speaker 2: the way with you there, John, But if it's not corner,
12:00
Speaker 2: and I know people want wide receiver man, offensive tackle
12:03
Speaker 2: is a tougher position to find than wide receiver.
12:06
Speaker 3: It just is.
12:07
Speaker 2: And you find more receivers who can play in later
12:10
Speaker 2: rounds than offensive tackles that can play in later rounds.
12:14
Speaker 2: And I if it's not corner, it better be offensive tackle.
12:17
Speaker 1: To me, is there a world where one of these
12:20
Speaker 1: receivers is good enough that you trade up for them? Like?
12:23
Speaker 1: Is there someone that you see that you're like that
12:24
Speaker 1: would be worth it to me? Or are all of
12:27
Speaker 1: them kind of no one's seeing it for.
12:29
Speaker 4: You, you know, and better be special, Okay if you're
12:34
Speaker 4: giving up draft equity to go get him, especially when
12:37
Speaker 4: now if Brian Thomas is at thirteen, like everybody else
12:41
Speaker 4: is off the board. Yeah, there's always a world because
12:44
Speaker 4: you can fall in love with a guy and you
12:46
Speaker 4: want to go get him.
12:46
Speaker 3: As I said, if you're.
12:48
Speaker 4: Giving up fifth round equity to go do it, fifth
12:52
Speaker 4: round equity might not be worth that much this year
12:54
Speaker 4: in this draft.
12:55
Speaker 3: So can you define special?
12:57
Speaker 2: What do you need to see from a wider in
13:00
Speaker 2: a rookie season to make it worth going out to
13:03
Speaker 2: get because you know as well as anyone you don't see.
13:05
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think special means do you think he's a
13:08
Speaker 4: one for the next Do you think he's the right
13:11
Speaker 4: or CIV you've never drafted. I mean, I don't think
13:16
Speaker 4: you go up three spots or I wouldn't go up
13:19
Speaker 4: three spots.
13:22
Speaker 3: To win Week five this year.
13:24
Speaker 4: I'd go up three spots if I thought this guy
13:27
Speaker 4: was going to be on the wall Sunday.
13:28
Speaker 3: Listen, what we all have, people we talk to, people
13:31
Speaker 3: we trust. I don't if.
13:36
Speaker 2: One of those three right and the Harrison neighbors aren't
13:38
Speaker 2: going to be there if a Doomsay slides, because he's.
13:40
Speaker 3: That third guy.
13:42
Speaker 2: If he slides somewhere at ten, eleven, twelve, because there's
13:44
Speaker 2: a run on tackles, there could be a run on corners, right,
13:47
Speaker 2: because that's a.
13:48
Speaker 3: Premium position as well. If a Donsay slides to a
13:50
Speaker 3: position where maybe you.
13:51
Speaker 2: Have to give up I don't know, the fourth round pick, Okay,
13:56
Speaker 2: I mean, because the word on him is that he's
13:59
Speaker 2: got all the measure, all the intangibles. He could be
14:02
Speaker 2: a special guy too, Okay, I mean you could make
14:05
Speaker 2: the case with that, because you're in the final year
14:07
Speaker 2: of Za Jones deal. Christian Kirk is making twenty four
14:10
Speaker 2: this year, twenty seven next. I mean, I do get
14:12
Speaker 2: why people would like to see a young receiver, especially
14:15
Speaker 2: a really good young receiver, but it better be one
14:19
Speaker 2: of those three guys.
14:21
Speaker 3: Because Thomas looks to me like T Higgins, and I
14:24
Speaker 3: know him.
14:24
Speaker 2: I'm going to go, oh, well, t Higgins, yep, But
14:28
Speaker 2: are you sure he's te Higgins? And it's te Higgins
14:31
Speaker 2: special enough to go up and.
14:32
Speaker 4: Get well clarify us for you to move on. I
14:34
Speaker 4: think they're going to take a wide receiver that they
14:37
Speaker 4: think can play quickly early in the draft.
14:41
Speaker 3: I don't know he's gonna be at number seventeen.
14:42
Speaker 4: Yeah, So, I mean I would be a little surprised
14:46
Speaker 4: if they don't. You know, somewhere in that first group
14:50
Speaker 4: receivers that people think can play go at least to
14:54
Speaker 4: the end of round three and maybe end round four.
14:57
Speaker 4: I would think somewhere in that group the Jaguars are
14:59
Speaker 4: gonna take somebody that they believe will impact immediately. I
15:04
Speaker 4: just kind of wonder, because of the nature of the
15:06
Speaker 4: position this year, if they're going to do it in
15:08
Speaker 4: the first round when the need at corner and offensive
15:11
Speaker 4: line feels so much more than the need at wide
15:14
Speaker 4: receiver in the short term.
15:15
Speaker 2: But it is all on value, right, I Mean, we
15:17
Speaker 2: talk about need, need, need, and I do get that,
15:19
Speaker 2: but it is about value. And if there is if
15:21
Speaker 2: you've got a guy, get a receiver that is great
15:23
Speaker 2: at higher than an offensive tackle on the board at
15:25
Speaker 2: that spot and you can't move back, will you take
15:28
Speaker 2: the receiver? You take the best player. You don't massage
15:32
Speaker 2: the need. If they're really close, okay, well then you
15:35
Speaker 2: have a decision to make. But if one is clearly
15:37
Speaker 2: above the other.
15:38
Speaker 1: You take the better player, always the best player on
15:40
Speaker 1: the board. We'll see exactly where that's going to be.
15:43
Speaker 1: I think we're all a little bit still on team
15:45
Speaker 1: cornerback at this point, but it is good to see
15:47
Speaker 1: what the wide receiver options are because if one of
15:49
Speaker 1: them does slide a little bit, certainly something that I'm
15:51
Speaker 1: sure the front office will consider about going up to
15:53
Speaker 1: get them. Here on Jags Am, stay with us, we
15:57
Speaker 1: will shortly come back with Ozone mailback. Jaguars fans get
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Speaker 1: for all your stage wisdom, as our your readers are
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16:44
Speaker 1: We're gonna go over some of the questions you've been
16:45
Speaker 1: getting this week. I'll start off with Rob from Saint Augustine.
16:49
Speaker 1: He says, I don't understand fans idea that the Jags
16:52
Speaker 1: must draft certain positions because of what another team does
16:56
Speaker 1: get real. We talked a little bit about this.
16:58
Speaker 4: I mean it goes back to, first of all, it's
17:02
Speaker 4: dangerous some team makes moving free agency and then you say, Okay,
17:06
Speaker 4: I'm gonna draft three corner. Well, you're drafting with the idea, Brian,
17:11
Speaker 4: that of building your roster out over a four to
17:15
Speaker 4: five year period. It's why I said earlier we're talking
17:18
Speaker 4: about wide receivers. I don't want to move up to
17:21
Speaker 4: beat the Chiefs in.
17:23
Speaker 3: Week four and twenty twenty four.
17:25
Speaker 4: I want to move up if I think this guy
17:27
Speaker 4: is a core piece that I believe will be on
17:30
Speaker 4: the wall someday and will be a guy who makes
17:35
Speaker 4: me a competitive franchise for five years. So yeah, it
17:39
Speaker 4: just goes back to I've never thought you build to
17:41
Speaker 4: beat one specific team, because if that team loses, then
17:45
Speaker 4: you got to fight, you know, thirty other teams.
17:48
Speaker 3: To be well. And I don't want to be completely
17:50
Speaker 3: dismissive of the idea.
17:51
Speaker 2: I mean, when you're in your division, you do build
17:55
Speaker 2: to compete with those teams, right. I mean the last
17:57
Speaker 2: couple of years we've seen Jonathan Taylor and Derrick Henry, Well,
18:00
Speaker 2: the Jaguars are trying to get more stout upfront against
18:02
Speaker 2: the run. They've brought in linebackers to be able to
18:05
Speaker 2: play against those players, but you do so in the
18:07
Speaker 2: framework of being able to compete every week and not
18:11
Speaker 2: just against the specific team. If you see great receivers
18:14
Speaker 2: in this division, the Jaguars will have to make sure
18:17
Speaker 2: that they have great defensive backs, so they'll draft where
18:19
Speaker 2: it fits over time to be able to compete. The
18:22
Speaker 2: best example of this going back is in the early
18:25
Speaker 2: days of the Jaguars.
18:26
Speaker 3: They built this original team.
18:28
Speaker 2: To compete with the Pittsburgh Steelers because the Steelers were
18:31
Speaker 2: the class of the old AFC Central and they knew
18:33
Speaker 2: that if they were ever going to compete for the
18:35
Speaker 2: division title, they had to.
18:37
Speaker 3: Be able to beat the Steelers. But you didn't do it.
18:39
Speaker 2: By drafting one player at one spot and say, all right,
18:42
Speaker 2: we've now matched them. We have a corner to match
18:45
Speaker 2: to Von Diggs. We have a corner to match Calvin Ridley.
18:49
Speaker 2: You want a corner that can match the best receivers
18:51
Speaker 2: every Sunday, and that means taking a guy because he fits,
18:55
Speaker 2: and it might not be where you think they take it.
18:57
Speaker 1: I think cornerback was always in the mixt and then
18:59
Speaker 1: when you look at some of those editions, they're like, yeah,
19:01
Speaker 1: that's probably a good idea. Our second reader fan writer
19:05
Speaker 1: in Jeremy from Gilbert, Arizona. Why isn't it a possibility
19:09
Speaker 1: for the Jags to draft a defensive tackle in round one?
19:12
Speaker 1: A cornerback helps one position in the secondary, A better
19:15
Speaker 1: D line helps every position in the secondary.
19:18
Speaker 3: Yeah.
19:18
Speaker 4: Philosophically this is dead on. If it was a defensive
19:22
Speaker 4: tackle draft that looked like the offensive tackle draft or
19:28
Speaker 4: the wide receiver draft or the cornerback draft, then I
19:31
Speaker 4: think this would be being more discussed. It's not a
19:34
Speaker 4: great defensive tackle draft. Byron Murphy from Texas is could
19:40
Speaker 4: be there. I think also they went out and signed Armstead,
19:45
Speaker 4: so you've got Armstead, Hamilton, Roy, Robertson Harris. I wouldn't
19:50
Speaker 4: mind defensive tackle round one. I'm not, you know, philosophically
19:53
Speaker 4: this makes sense. I think the reason it's not being discussed,
19:56
Speaker 4: or the reasons I just.
19:57
Speaker 2: Laid out listen, for the same reason that I'm about
20:00
Speaker 2: an offensive tackle, right because you've got two players who
20:03
Speaker 2: after this year are not under contract. You've got Eric Armstead,
20:07
Speaker 2: who's thirty one, which isn't ancient but it isn't young either,
20:10
Speaker 2: and 're Robertson Harris who's on the other side of
20:13
Speaker 2: thirty as well.
20:14
Speaker 3: If the best player on the board is a defensive tackle,
20:17
Speaker 3: well take him. Right.
20:18
Speaker 2: There's two I think, Byron Murphy and Gerseanne Newton, the
20:20
Speaker 2: kid from Illinois, that fit in that range. If, and
20:25
Speaker 2: this is really important, if Ryan Nielson likes both of them.
20:28
Speaker 3: They may both be highly.
20:29
Speaker 2: Rated guys, but they may not fit what he wants
20:31
Speaker 2: to do. So if they're sitting there and the Jaguars
20:33
Speaker 2: don't take him, it's because they're not the best player
20:36
Speaker 2: on the board at what they're talking about right now.
20:40
Speaker 3: So I'm all with you.
20:42
Speaker 2: That's why I always talk about best available player. You
20:44
Speaker 2: can never go wrong when you take a great football player.
20:47
Speaker 2: And if Byron Murphy or Newton fits, take them.
20:51
Speaker 1: All comes down to how the board falls, it seems.
20:54
Speaker 1: Our final viewer question for ozone mail Bags maybe John
20:57
Speaker 1: from Panavider Beach, is the overall ross are going into
21:00
Speaker 1: the draft the same below or the roster's the same? Sorry?
21:05
Speaker 1: Excuse me? Is it better the same or below the roster?
21:07
Speaker 1: The end of the season, the offensive and defensive lines
21:09
Speaker 1: certainly appear better, but I do not see much improvement elsewhere.
21:13
Speaker 4: Yeah. My answer to this when I did it in
21:17
Speaker 4: the text mail bag was, if the offensive and defensive
21:20
Speaker 4: lines are better, you're better.
21:21
Speaker 3: Yes, so.
21:25
Speaker 4: Have they quote improved everywhere? Yeah, I think Durbin a
21:29
Speaker 4: makes them a better returner right now.
21:31
Speaker 3: I love agne.
21:33
Speaker 4: I think I think durbinat right now is probably you know,
21:38
Speaker 4: in his prime, where maybe Jamal was.
21:40
Speaker 3: But that's negligible.
21:42
Speaker 4: And you know, I think if Armstead and Morse make
21:46
Speaker 4: you better right over the ball on both sides of
21:49
Speaker 4: the line, then you're a lot better.
21:50
Speaker 3: Yeah.
21:51
Speaker 4: I think they would have been a lot better if
21:52
Speaker 4: they'd been a little better in both of those spots
21:54
Speaker 4: last year.
21:55
Speaker 2: I think you're dead on. I think when you make
21:56
Speaker 2: your offensive and defensive lines better, you are by default
22:01
Speaker 2: a better roster than you were at the end of
22:03
Speaker 2: last season. I also want to throw this one out
22:05
Speaker 2: because it's a point that you made, John. If they
22:08
Speaker 2: go back to playing the way that they did in
22:10
Speaker 2: twenty twenty two in the passing game, where they were
22:12
Speaker 2: very efficient because Trevor was able to distribute the ball
22:15
Speaker 2: all over the place, this year it felt like they
22:17
Speaker 2: were trying to force the ball to Calvin Ridley, and
22:19
Speaker 2: people want to make the comparison, Well, Gabe Davis isn't
22:22
Speaker 2: as explosive or fast or as good as Calvin Ridley.
22:27
Speaker 3: Yeah, but can he be what Marvin Jones was in
22:30
Speaker 3: this offense?
22:31
Speaker 2: And I say, yeah, he's a younger, taller, longer Marvin Jones.
22:36
Speaker 2: And so if he comes in here and gives them
22:38
Speaker 2: a better version of Marvin Jones, then I think the
22:40
Speaker 2: passing game is better. I could Yeah, I think this
22:44
Speaker 2: is a better roster. It may not have improved exponentially
22:48
Speaker 2: like some people think it could have, but they were
22:50
Speaker 2: nine to eight, right. If you get marginally better and
22:54
Speaker 2: can push the ball into the end zone at the
22:56
Speaker 2: end of the year, then you're ten and seven in
22:58
Speaker 2: the playoffs.
22:59
Speaker 3: I mean, they were very close.
23:01
Speaker 2: So I don't know that they needed to get exponentially
23:03
Speaker 2: better in free agency. Exponentially better is where the draft
23:07
Speaker 2: comes in, and I think convert.
23:08
Speaker 4: You know, had they been able to convert oun't know
23:12
Speaker 4: the number eight more third and ones, that could have
23:18
Speaker 4: been a difference in being eleven and six or twelve
23:21
Speaker 4: and five for this day. I mean, it sounds like
23:24
Speaker 4: a lot, but I think you could easily go back
23:27
Speaker 4: and find games where they couldn't quite convert a third
23:31
Speaker 4: and one, or or didn't have confidence in that.
23:34
Speaker 3: To me, that tilted the whole season.
23:35
Speaker 2: I just feel like they made good decisions in free
23:38
Speaker 2: agency to improve the roster. Really, they fit within the
23:42
Speaker 2: cap right with knowing that they had a big chunk
23:45
Speaker 2: of money tied up in Cam Robinson and a big
23:47
Speaker 2: chut that they didn't want to renegotiate, and the franchise
23:50
Speaker 2: tag on Josh Allen, and they were able to make
23:54
Speaker 2: some moves that fit and made this roster better. So
23:58
Speaker 2: I kind of liked what they did, not kind of
24:00
Speaker 2: I do like what they did.
24:02
Speaker 1: The free agency additions to their needs were definitely crucial,
24:05
Speaker 1: but now the draft you got to back up. You
24:07
Speaker 1: got to develop, and you have to get that talent.
24:09
Speaker 1: So then in the next couple of years, where they're
24:11
Speaker 1: where they need to be as this division is getting
24:14
Speaker 1: a lot better all around them. Stay with us here
24:16
Speaker 1: on Jagsam. We'll be right back as we tell you
24:18
Speaker 1: what's going on before the draft. Whether you need air,
24:32
Speaker 1: electric or plumbing service, Donovan is always a good call.
24:35
Speaker 1: We've been trusted by our customers for almost forty years,
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Speaker 1: so trust us to deliver fast, reliable service to your home.
24:44
Speaker 1: Back finishing things up here on jags am. And we're
24:48
Speaker 1: just a little over two weeks away from the draft.
24:51
Speaker 1: We're gonna be talking about it much much more of
24:52
Speaker 1: the next two weeks, probably until very beginning of the draft,
24:56
Speaker 1: and then we'll all be wrong about what we predicted.
24:58
Speaker 1: But it was fun to kind of try to project
25:01
Speaker 1: what they're going to do. Brian, You're headed to Detroit.
25:03
Speaker 3: I am, I am. Uh.
25:05
Speaker 2: You know, I've been on the road for the draft
25:07
Speaker 2: since they moved it out of New York, So Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland,
25:13
Speaker 2: Kansas City. Yeah, the Cleveland one wasn't all that great,
25:17
Speaker 2: but all these cities embrace it and they put on
25:19
Speaker 2: a festival. So I'm expecting Detroit to put their best
25:21
Speaker 2: foot forward. It certainly helps that their football team has
25:24
Speaker 2: risen to a contender in the NFC, and the draft
25:29
Speaker 2: is always it's always so focused on the first round
25:32
Speaker 2: for the obvious reason that's where everyone's attention is. But
25:34
Speaker 2: it's a three day festival and it's a lot of
25:37
Speaker 2: fun to watch a city and a region because.
25:39
Speaker 3: A lot of people will come flooding into Detroit for
25:41
Speaker 3: this to make it interesting.
25:44
Speaker 4: It's coming up fast humore.
25:47
Speaker 1: Before we know it. John, somehow you didn't want to
25:49
Speaker 1: go to Detroit.
25:52
Speaker 3: I never there's nothing for there's nothing.
25:56
Speaker 1: We did spend a week.
25:57
Speaker 3: There's nothing for me. I'm not even journed on the
26:00
Speaker 3: bridges there these days.
26:01
Speaker 2: I'm not even sure there's anything for me and Detroit,
26:02
Speaker 2: to be honest with you, because in recent years, Anton
26:05
Speaker 2: Harrison wasn't in Kansas City right and Tredon right.
26:10
Speaker 1: Break the streak, maybe someone will be.
26:11
Speaker 2: There, Treyvon Lloyd, Trevon Lloyd, Treyvon Walker was not in Vegas,
26:15
Speaker 2: but Devin Lloyd was. The year before that, neither Etn
26:19
Speaker 2: nor Trevor were in Cleveland.
26:21
Speaker 3: So new you're gonna be yeah, I'm sure that's it.
26:26
Speaker 2: What's happened is is that players have decided that they'd
26:28
Speaker 2: rather do their own parties and stay home. And we
26:30
Speaker 2: get a list of you know, ten, twelve, fourteen players
26:32
Speaker 2: that are going, and it's just not as impactful as
26:35
Speaker 2: it was when you know, I'm standing there waiting for
26:39
Speaker 2: Jaalen Ramsey to come up right or Dante Fowler, whoever.
26:41
Speaker 3: The Jags drafted Josh Allen.
26:43
Speaker 2: Oh, Josh Allen in twenty nineteen is one of my
26:45
Speaker 2: favorite stories. That was the day that Tyreek Killen had
26:49
Speaker 2: a story about him and his son who had broken
26:51
Speaker 2: his arm, and there was domestic issues in the home.
26:54
Speaker 2: And I walked into the green room to grab Josh.
26:57
Speaker 2: Just as he was walking down the hallway to this,
27:00
Speaker 2: Jennie had Wesley, now his oldest who is an infant,
27:02
Speaker 2: in his arms. And you could see the smile from
27:04
Speaker 2: the wings on Roger Goodell's face as here comes Josh
27:09
Speaker 2: Allen with his son in his arms, and the story
27:11
Speaker 2: about Tyreek went away and it was about Josh Allen,
27:14
Speaker 2: football player, husband father.
27:16
Speaker 3: It was a great moment.
27:18
Speaker 1: Josh Allen the football player. We love him, hopefully many
27:20
Speaker 1: more years to come. We're still working on that extension.
27:22
Speaker 1: We'll keep an eye on that as we always do.
27:25
Speaker 1: Stay with us for the next couple of weeks. We're
27:26
Speaker 1: gonna have all your draft coverage for you. There will
27:28
Speaker 1: be a draft event here on Draft night as well,
27:31
Speaker 1: so consider that. We'll see you next week on Jack's
27:33
Speaker 1: I Am