JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Defense was the strength of the Jaguars run to the AFC Championship game last season. With the No. 29 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft Jacksonville added another piece on that side of the ball by selecting former Florida defensive Tackle Taven Bryan.
Tom Coughlin has stated on more than one occasion that he wants rotate seven or eight defensive lineman per game. Bryan is listed at 6’4” and 291 pounds. He’s a red-shirt junior and will join Malik Jackson, Abry Jones and Marcell Dareus in the Jaguars rotation of interior defensive lineman.
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“Yeah I was really surprised, I thought there was no way Jacksonville was picking me,” said Bryan on a conference call with local media Thursday night. “They’ve got so many Pro Bowlers on their D-Line. I’m excited.”
Coming into the draft the Jaguars front office said on more than one occasion that they were in a position to draft the best player on the board. That message continued Thursday night.
“This pick was about value,” said Jaguars Executive VP of Football Operations Tom Coughlin. “Bryan was the highest ranked player on our board at this point of the draft.”
Bryan was a one-year starter at Florida and recorded 40 tackles, six tack for loss, four sacks and three quarterback hurries this past season. The expectation is that Bryan will play multiple positions along the defensive line for the Jaguars.
“We want to keep a rotation and keep guys fresh,” said Jaguars General Manager Dave Caldwell. “We want to dress eight guys on the defensive line and have them play equal snaps. That’s the goal."
Caldwell referenced how the Eagles won the SuperBowl over the Patriots by utilizing a rotation of defensive lineman that all play different positions and constantly put pressure on the opposing teams quarterback. For now Caldwell said that he could see Bryan getting anywhere from 25-30 snaps per game.
Jaguars have the following remaining picks in the 2018 NFL Draft:
Round 2: No. 61 overall
Round 3: No. 93 overall
Round 4: No. 129 overall
Round 6: No. 203 overall
Round 7: No. 230 overall
Round 7: No. 247 overall