The 2020 NFL Draft will be next week and it will mark a crucial time for the Jacksonville Jaguars who have 12 total picks and need more talent on their roster. Over the last couple of days, we’ve been looking at some of the top prospects at their positions of need and now it’s time to evaluate the safety position.
Here are three names at the position in which the Jags could be eying in the top-3 rounds:
Round 1 – Xavier McKinney, Alabama
The trend of mocking a safety to the Jags in Round 1 is declining, however, when one is mocked to them it’s Alabama’s Xavier McKinney. At 6-foot-0, 200-pounds, he started in 13 games for Nick Saban last year and was a third-teamer on the Associated Press’ All-American team and a first-teamer on the All-SEC team.
Simply put, scouts like a lot about McKinney including his football IQ, coverage skills (89.2 coverage grade, per PFF), and versatility — playing in and outside the box, as well as in the slot. None of that is surprising when considering how Saban coaches the defensive side of the ball.
McKinney would probably be a reach at the No. 20 overall pick, however, if the Jags trade into the late first-round he’d make a ton of sense.
Round 2 – Grant Delpit, Louisiana State
Grant Delpit is one of the more popular prospects in the draft because he received a lot of national exposure as a leader for Louisiana State’s defense during their national title season. Of course, it also helps that LSU has a great tradition at the safety position (see Eric Reid, Jamal Adams, and Tyrann Mathieu).
Most fans know of Delpit because of his physicality and his skill set would really help the Jags in the run game where they were ranked 28th. However, due to some scouts questioning his range, hip fluidity, and other coverage aspects, he could fall into the second-round. If he is available for pick No. 42, the Jags will have a lot to think about as their secondary lacks a bit-time hitter at the moment.
Round 3 – Ashtyn Davis, Cal
Ashtyn Davis is a player our own Daniel Griffis evaluated last season. After racking up 55 tackles and two picks in 2019, Davis’ season was cut short due to needing surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle in December.
Needless to say, with COVID-19 limiting evaluations, teams will have questions about Davis although he recently visited core muscle specialist Dr. William Meyers in Philly to make sure he left no questions about his health. If teams like what they hear from his visit, there is a lot he can offer to the Jags, like range, athleticism, toughness, and versatility at the safety position.
