OK, Jacksonville Jaguars fans and management, hear me out: Building through the draft and supplementing that with free agency is the right course to sustained success.
But that shouldn’t stop the Jaguars from sacrificing next year’s first-round pick in a trade for wants-to-be-moved New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. It makes sense for three reasons …
1. Next week’s defensive tackle draft cupboard may be picked clean by the time the Jaguars are scheduled to pick at No. 56 (second round) or even if they trade up a few spots.
2. Defensive tackle is the Jaguars’ biggest need.
3. Lawrence gives the Jaguars a better chance at making their first Super Bowl than any player they can draft this year or next.
Package next year’s first-rounder and one of next week’s three third-rounders for Lawrence, who is signed through 2027 on a four-year, $90 million contract (currently 12th among defensive tackles in average salary).
Earlier this week, the New York Post said negotiations between Lawrence and the Giants have stalled. Big Blue is in a big transition and should want young talent and players who want to be there.
The data shows the kind of impact Lawrence can make for the Jaguars.
In 2024, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, Lawrence commanded the highest double-team rate (63.8%) since 2018; the next-closest player was the New York Jets’ Folorunso Fatuskasi at 54.1% in 2021. And according to Sharp Football, Lawrence’s 108 pass-rush pressures since 2022 when lined up at nose tackle is the most in the NFL; the next-closest is Tampa Bay’s Vita Vea … with 32.
I am willing to throw out Lawrence’s 2025 season. He started all 17 games, but had only a half-sack (career low) and 31 tackles (career low). Just two years ago, he had nine sacks. Just four years ago, he had 7 1/2 sacks and 68 tackles to earn the first of consecutive second-team All Pro nods.
A review of Lawrence’s 2024 sacks was eye-popping because of his bull-rush power. The stopwatch times on the sacks were 3.28, 3.00, 3.59, 3.03, 2.50, 2.66, 4.69, 6.75 and 2.53 seconds. Elite stuff.
Imagine a defensive line with Lawrence and DaVon Hamilton inside and Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker outside. The Jaguars should make it happen.
About the Jaguars
1. Evaluating defensive players: The question I asked Jaguars coach Liam Coen last week produced laughs by him and general manager James Gladstone. How much does Coen, the career offensive coach, enjoy scouting defensive players?
When Coen was a teenager, his dad, Tim, was the coach at Division III Salve Regina University (Newport, R.I.) and son would watch defensive players with dad. But once Liam started his coaching career, it was all offense.
“You gain an appreciation for the game (as a whole) as much as anything (by scouting defensive players),” Coen said. “Now, is it easier or more fun to watch positions that have a ball? Usually, I tend to lean that way, but I think it’s cool to see the impact and effect that the (defensive) side has and what that player can do to truly help our team, not just on defense, but special teams.”
2. Quick Kicks: Having traded their first-round picks are the Jaguars (for cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter), Indianapolis (for cornerback Sauce Gardner), Atlanta (for edge rusher James Pearce … yikes), the Los Angeles Rams (for cornerback Trent McDuffie), Green Bay (for edge rusher Micah Parsons) and Denver (for receiver Jaylen Waddle). The Rams have Atlanta’s pick. … Barring a monster trade-up, this year will be only the 11th time in Jaguars history they won’t pick in the top 10. … Former Jaguars linebacker/all-time good guy Paul Posluszny will be on-site in Pittsburgh to announce the team’s second- and third-round picks on April 24. Poz grew up in Butler, Pa., and played at Penn State.
About NHL, NBA playoffs
I have been fortunate to cover about 50 NHL playoff games, including the first Alex Ovechkin-Sidney Crosby (Washington-Pittsburgh) series (Penguins won in seven games in 2009) and the entire Colorado-Tampa Bay final series (Avalanche won in six games in 2022). The limits these players push themselves to? Remarkable.
The picks …
Eastern Conference: Carolina over Ottawa, Buffalo over Boston, Pittsburgh over Philadelphia and Tampa Bay over Montreal in the first round, Tampa Bay over Buffalo and Carolina over Pittsburgh in the second round and Tampa Bay over Carolina in the conference final.
Western Conference: Colorado over Los Angeles, Minnesota over Dallas, Utah over Vegas and Edmonton over Anaheim in the first round, Colorado over Minnesota and Utah over Edmonton in the second round and Colorado over Utah in the conference final.
Final: Colorado over Tampa Bay.
Once the contrived play-in tournament was completed Friday night, the NBA could look toward the playoffs and man, oh man does The Association need a compelling postseason after a disastrous regular season that was low-lighted by a gambling scandal, tanking and star-player injuries.
The (chalky) picks …
Eastern Conference: Cleveland over Toronto, New York over Atlanta, Boston over Philadelphia and Detroit over Orlando/Charlotte in the first round, Detroit over Cleveland and Boston over New York in the second round and Boston over Detroit in the conference final.
Western Conference: Oklahoma City over Phoenix/Golden State, San Antonio over Portland, Denver over Minnesota and Houston over the L.A. Lakers in the first round, Oklahoma City over Houston and Denver over San Antonio in the second round and Oklahoma City over Denver in the conference final.
Final: Boston over Oklahoma City.
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars should take big swing for Dexter Lawrence
Reporting by Ryan O’Halloran, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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