Jaguars post-draft aggregate grades

How does national media grade Jacksonville’s 2023 draft haul?

We’ve gathered grades from 10 national media outlets to provide a fresh perspective on how the Jacksonville Jaguars fared in the 2023 NFL Draft.

AP News: B+

From Rob Maaddi:

Improved offense with first three picks: OT Anton Harrison (27), TE Brenton Strange and RB Tank Bigsby. WR Parker Washington could be a steal in the sixth round.

From ESPN: B

From Mel Kiper Jr.:

Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke made two trades down in Round 1, acquiring extra fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round picks in the process. That’s a coup for dropping down just three spots and still getting an offensive tackle who could start as a rookie. With Cam Robinson facing a suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, Anton Harrison (27) might have to be thrown into the fire on the left side. Harrison allowed just one sack over the past two seasons. He had a lot of fans inside the NFL.

If Baalke & Co. didn’t go with a tackle in the first round, I thought they might go with a tight end. The Jags filled that need with Brenton Strange (61) in Round 2. Strange had been rising since the combine; I went back to study his tape after his combine workout, and I liked what I saw. He has the talent to turn into a solid pass-catcher. I also liked the value for edge rusher Yasir Abdullah (136) and safety Antonio Johnson (160) on Day 3, but I would have gone with running back Roschon Johnson over Tank Bigsby (88) in the third round. Bigsby is a physical runner, but does he have the speed to rip off chunk yardage? It was just a little high for me.

Jacksonville ended up with six selections in the final two rounds, and my favorite was wideout Parker Washington (185), who has a chance to contribute early out of the slot. Baalke took a few fliers late, which I always recommend.

There’s not much flash about this class, but the substance is important, as Harrison and Strange fill holes and have high-level potential.

DraftKings Nation: B

From Grace McDermott:

Well, the Jags had volume this year, if nothing else. They filled out the offense around Trevor Lawrence in the first four picks, adding protection and receiving options. Bigsby should help fill out the run game around Travis Etienne, and Harrison can be added to the rotation to protect Lawrence with Cam Robinson potentially suspended. Whether they needed all those seventh-round picks remains to be seen, but they have some solid options to add depth at lots of different positions.

Pro Football Focus: B

[Anton Harrison] makes a lot of sense given the reported suspension for Cam Robinson. The 24th ranked player on the PFF big board, the Jaguars get Harrison at about the right spot but pick up three additional picks by moving down. He allowed just nine total pressures from 447 pass-blocking snaps in 2022.

[Cole Strange] could very well be a long-term replacement for Evan Engram because Strange projects far better as a receiver than he does as a run blocker. He caught 62.5% of the contested targets he saw in 2022 and had a drop rate of just 3.0%. His 60.5 run-blocking grade confirms that you probably don’t want him taking on defensive ends as an in-line blocker.

Jacksonville adds a complementary weapon to Travis Etienne by taking Auburn running back Tank Bigsby. The Jags employ inside-zone runs at a high rate, and Bigsby turned in the second-best rushing grade on such plays among Power Five running backs since 2020.

FOX Sports: B-

From Ben Arthur:

It’s surprising that it took the Jaguars until the fourth round to address the pass rush (Jacksonville had just 35 sacks last season, tied for 25th in the NFL). But accumulating 12 draft picks for an already good team is impressive — there’s plenty of potential for strong depth — and they’ve certainly fed into their strength: the Trevor Lawrence-led offense. With its first three picks, Jacksonville took an offensive tackle, tight end and running back who should all play key roles as rookies.

Sporting News: C

From Vinnie Iyer:

The Jaguars had to lock into offensive tackle early after losing Jawaan Taylor in free agency and learning of Cam Robinson’s looming suspension. It was then weird to pivot to more tight end and backfield help so early and then reaching defensively with Miller, Lacy and Abudllah. Harrison can start right away, however, and Johnson filled their lone true pressing needing as a first-round caliber safety. They also weren’t lower because of some good versatility later.

The Ringer: C-

From Danny Kelly:

I wasn’t a huge fan of what the Jaguars did over the first two days of the draft. Jacksonville landed a potential future starting left tackle in Oklahoma’s Anton Harrison on day one, but that pick was a bit of a reach per my board (he ranked 50th). I don’t see a ton of upside with the team’s second- and third-round picks either, with Penn State tight end Brenton Strange projecting as an H-back and Auburn running back Tank Bigsby a backup/rotational running back. I did like what the team did on day three, though: Louisville’s Yasir Abdullah adds some juice to the team’s edge rusher/linebacker group; Texas A&M safety Antonio Johnson brings versatility to the defensive backs spot; and Penn State receiver Parker Washington offers yards-after-the-catch talent at receiver.

Sports Illustrated: C-

From Matt Verderame:

The Jaguars had a bizarre draft in many ways. Jacksonville needed to find additional pass rush to supplement Josh Allen—who is in the final year of his deal—and yet didn’t address that need. Instead, general manager Trent Baalke used a pair of Day-2 picks to land a blocking tight end and a reserve running back. Jacksonville found some good value on the third day with Johnson in the fifth round and Washington in the sixth, but outside of Harrison filling a clear need at right tackle, there are real questions about what the Jaguars walked away with.

USA Today: D+

From Nate Davis:

OT Anton Harrison became a priority in light of the PED suspension incumbent LT Cam Robinson is facing and the departure of RT Jawaan Taylor in free agency. Aside from that, it felt like the Jags bolstered their depth if not finding much impact. Fifth-round DB Antonio Johnson could be the rookie who contributes the most aside from Harrison. Still, for a team that narrowly won the AFC South in 2022, it feels like the rest of the division might have closed whatever narrow gap existed.

Pro Football Network: D

From Arif Hasan’s industry consensus big board scoring:

The Jaguars have had some pretty strong drafts recently, so this comes as a disappointment. That said, they came away with some of the strongest steals of the draft anyway, so it may all mean nothing. The board loved the Antonio Johnson pick in the fifth round and figured that the reach for Anton Harrison in the first round was worth it. Parker Washington was also a positive selection. With 13 picks, though, there were a lot of places to falter — and that’s what they did with nearly every other pick.

Brenton Strange, at 61st overall, was the biggest problem, as he ranked 138th overall. But they also lost value on four players completely outside of the top 300 — DT Raymond Vohasek from North Carolina (615th), OT Cooper Hodges from Appalachian State (453rd), S Erick Hallett III from Pitt (441st), and CB Christian Braswell from Rutgers (333rd).

Average: C+

More sources will be added as post-draft grade articles are published, including our own grade of Jacksonville’s 2023 class.