When looking at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ needs before free agency, it appears the team didn’t quite do enough at the cornerback position to feel comfortable heading into the regular season. Now, all signs point to them drafting a player early at the position as many feel it’s their biggest position of need at the moment.
Over time we’ll be looking at early and late-round options for the Jags at the position as there are several intriguing names they could acquire with one or some of their 12 selections. Starting with some early-round options, here are some players for them to consider in the top-3 rounds:
Round 1 – Kristian Fulton, LSU
Kristian Fulton is a player who has been often slotted to the Jags in mock drafts — and for good reason. Jeff Okudah is set to be a top-5 pick and C.J. Henderson would be a reach at No. 9. Clemson’s A.J. Terrell, Alabama’s Trevon Diggs, and Texas Christian’s Jeff Gladney feel more like late first-round to second-round guys. That leaves Kristian Fulton, who the Jags have a chance to take with pick No. 20.
At 6-foot-0, 197 pounds, Fulton would give the Jags a corner with good foot agility and hips. He’d also give them a player who has matched up with elite talent as he faced the receiving corps from Alabama and Clemson amongst notables in 2019.
Round 2 – Trevon Diggs, Alabama
Trevon Diggs, brother of Buffalo Bills receiver, Stefon Diggs, is another player I could see appealing with the Jags. Like Fulton, he has a body of work that was compiled against elite talent and has the size they look for in a corner (6-foot-1, 205 pounds).
Diggs doesn’t quite have the tackling and ball skills of Fulton and some of the other aforementioned cornerbacks, which is why I feel he’s more of a second-round player. However, his footwork is sound and he’s pretty good in zone, two traits the Jags could work with in their scheme.
Round 3 -CB Bryce Hall, Virginia
Under normal circumstances Bryce Hall would be a late first to early second-round pick, however, he broke his left ankle in October and was ruled out for the 2019 season. With team doctors not being able to evaluate him as they would like, this could cause him to fall in the draft.
When healthy, Hall was a stud at the cornerback position. At 6-foot-1, 202-pounds, he looks like an NFL caliber corner and has the length to bully receivers in man coverage while also flourishing in zone coverage due to his patience and tendency to lurk. He always seems to be around the ball and it shows in his statistics as he will enter the NFL Draft with just under 40 pass breakups.
(Honorable mention for Round 3) CB Cameron Dantzler, Mississippi State
If Jags fans want to talk about a long and explosive athlete, Cameron Dantzler’s name is certainly worth mentioning. As most are aware, our Draft Wire comrade Justin Melo recently reported that he spoke with the Jags, which isn’t a shock by any means.
The 6-foot-2 Louisiana native is scrappy and competitive as they come and is pretty smart when it comes to combination routes. While many will critique his tackling ability, a cornerback’s job is more about how they fare in coverage and Dantzler checks most of the boxes there. Besides, a lot of his tackling issues are issues that could be addressed with proper coaching, which makes him one of the more intriguing prospects in the draft if picked up by the right team.
