The Jacksonville Jaguars made history on Thursday, April 23 … by doing nothing.
The Jaguars, due to last year’s trade to move up for cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter, did not make a first-round pick for the first time in franchise history.
Next up on Friday, April 24 are Rounds 2-3 and the Jaguars have four selections, No. 56 in round 2 and Nos. 81, 88 and 100 in round 3. The draft resumes at 7 p.m.
Did the Jaguars come close to making the big jump from 56 into the first round?
“We had some call earlier in the day to gauge what paths could exist should they present themselves,” general manager James Gladstone said. “Nothing transpired even in real time that would have been worth it.”
Asked about the first round, Gladstone said: “I felt like there would be a little more action toward the front half of the first (round) than what we ultimately ended up seeing. We anticipated a heavy o-line run in the teens and the early portion of the 20s and we anticipated a lot of movement toward the back half of the first, but nothing that would be a substantial jump back.”
Only one of the first eight picks were traded during the actual draft, but teams started jockeying around later in the first round. Buffalo, for example, traded down twice and out of the first round.
As for the run on offensive linemen, tackles went at Nos. 10, 12, 17, 19, 21 and 28 and guards at No. 14 and 26.
“I think (the board) reflects what we were projecting,” Gladstone said, looking ahead to Rounds 2-3.
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Why Jaguars didn’t come close to trading into NFL draft Round 1
Reporting by Ryan O’Halloran, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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