JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The NFL draft is one of the most frustrating things to get right for teams. The Jaguars have had their shares of struggles over the years with trying to land the best player and the best fit, but they’ve also had plenty of success. With the draft starting on Thursday night, News4JAX looks at the five best draft classes in the franchise’s 29 years of making selections.
We withheld judgement on recent classes like 2022, which included No. 1 overall pick Travon Walker, who had a breakout second season. And the 2021 draft yielded stars like Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco. But those recent hits under general manager Trent Baalke are too early to be viewed as hits or misses.
Recommended Videos
RELATED
The five worst draft classes in Jaguars history | The News4JAX sports staff mock draft for the Jaguars | NFL draft primer: All you need to know about the draft
Honorable mention
The 2015 draft
Number, Pos., Player, College
3. QB Blake Bortles, Central Florida
39. WR Marqise Lee, USC
61. WR Allen Robinson, Penn State
93. OG Brandon Linder, Miami (FL)
114. CB Aaron Colvin, Oklahoma
144. LB Telvin Smith, Florida State
159. DE Chris Smith, Arkansas
205. C Luke Bowanko, Virginia
222. RB Storm Johnson, Central Florida
Best pick: LB Telvin Smith, Florida State. Worst pick: RB Storm Johnson, Central Florida. GM making the pick: Dave Caldwell.
Why it was so good: Smith (pictured below) is one of the best mid-round picks by the Jaguars. His career went off the rails due to off-field issues. Robinson had a 1,400-yard season with 14 TDs and a Pro Bowl selection in 2016. The team misread his future by re-signing Lee to a contract extension and letting Robinson walk in free agency. Bortles was overdrafted at No. 3 and had a polarizing career in Jacksonville. Linder was one of the team’s most durable and productive players.
The 2016 draft
Number, Pos., Player, College
5. CB Jalen Ramsey, Florida State
36. LB Myles Jack, UCLA
69. DE Yannick Ngakoue, Maryland
103. DL Sheldon Day, Notre Dame
181. LB Tyrone Holmes, Montana
201. QB Brandon Allen, Arkansas
226. DE Jonathan Woodard, Central Arkansas
Best pick: CB Jalen Ramsey, Florida State. Worst pick: DE Jonathan Woodard, Central Arkansas. GM making the pick: Dave Caldwell.
Why it was so good: Simultaneously one of the best and most frustrating drafts all in one. Ramsey is likely headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day, but he forced his way out of Jacksonville due to the toxic situation in the front office. Ngakoue outplayed the No. 3 pick in the 2015 draft (Dante Fowler) but also forced his way out of Jacksonville. Jack was an excellent second-round selection and got a second contract from the franchise, but this draft feels like more about what it could have been. Those three helped push this team to an unlikely AFC championship game appearance in 2017.
5. The 2003 draft
Number, Pos., Player, College
7. QB Byron Leftwich, Marshall
39. CB Rashean Mathis, Bethune-Cookman
72. OG Vince Manuwai, Hawaii
104. TE George Wrighster, Oregon
132. RB LaBrandon Toefield, LSU
176. DE Brandon Green, Rice
179. S David Young, Georgia Southern
193. OT Marques Ogden, Howard
218. FB Malaefou MacKenzie, USC
Best pick: CB Rashean Mathis. Worst pick: OT Marques Ogden, Howard. GM making the pick: Shack Harris.
Why it was so good: Mathis (below) went on to become one of the best players in franchise history. The Englewood High School graduate spent 10 years in Jacksonville and had 30 interceptions. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2006 and went to the Pro Bowl. Manuwai was a stalwart on the line, starting 105 games in his career. He tragically died in 2018. Wrighster had nine TD grabs in six seasons. Leftwich was average during his time in Jacksonville, but never reached his potential as the No. 7 pick.
4. The 1996 draft
Number, Pos., Player, College
2. LB Kevin Hardy, Illinois
33. DE Tony Brackens, Texas
60. C Michael Cheever, Georgia Tech
63. CB Aaron Beasley, West Virginia
110. WR Reggie Barlow, Alabama State
146. OG Jimmy Herndon, Houston
170. DB John Fisher, Missouri Western
185. WR Chris Doering, Florida
227. WR Clarence Jones, Tennessee State
228. WR Gregory Spann, Jackson State
Best pick: DE Tony Brackens, Texas. Worst pick: C Michael Cheever, Georgia Tech. GM making the pick: Tom Coughlin.
Why it was so good: Hardy finished third in rookie of the year voting and had 504 tackles in his Jaguars career. He was a first-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl in 1999. Brackens (below) wasn’t far behind, making second-team All-Pro in 1999 and also the Pro Bowl that season. He has a franchise record 55 sacks. Beasley was in Jacksonville six seasons and had 24 interceptions and two picks returned for TDs. Cheever’s career ended quickly due to back injuries.
3. The 2004 draft
Number, Pos., Player, College
9. WR Reggie Williams, Washington
39. LB Daryl Smith, Georgia Tech
55. FB Greg Jones, Florida State
86. LB Jorge Cordova, Nevada
118. DL Anthony Maddox, Delta State
120. WR Ernest Wilford, Virginia Tech
137. K Josh Scobee, Louisiana Tech
150. CB Chris Thompson, Nicholls State
159. OT Sean Bubin, Illinois
249. DE Bobby McCray, Florida
Best pick: LB Daryl Smith. Worst pick: OT Sean Bubin, Illinois. GM making the pick: Shack Harris.
Why it was so good: Jacksonville reached for Williams in the first round as the run on receivers picked up. Smith was one of the best players in Jacksonville history and still ranks second in franchise history in total tackles. Jones (below) was not only a fan favorite from the Seminoles but a sledgehammer of a blocking back who had a career-high 575 yards and four TDs in 2005. Wilford had a game-winning touchdown grab with no time left to beat the Bills as a rookie and went on to catch 15 TDs in Jacksonville, seven of those in 2005. Scobee became the best kicker in franchise history and also a fan favorite. McCray is the best seventh-round pick in Jaguars history. He had 22 sacks in four seasons before leaving in free agency.
2. The 1998 draft
Number, Pos., Player, College
9. RB Fred Taylor, Florida
25. S Donovin Darius, Syracuse
57. CB Cordell Taylor, Hampton
86. QB Jonathan Quinn, Middle Tennessee State
101. RB Tavian Banks, Iowa
118. LB Harry Deligianis, Youngstown State
148. C John Wade, Marshall
179. DE Lamanzer Williams Defensive end Minnesota
182. RB Kevin McLeod, Auburn
192. WR Alvis Whitted, North Carolina State
214. LB Brandon Tolbert, Georgia
Best pick: RB Fred Taylor, Florida. Worst pick: CB Cordell Taylor, Hampton. GM making the pick: Tom Coughlin.
Why it was so good: Taylor’s presence alone pushes this class up. He only made one Pro Bowl, but the appreciation of what Taylor did and why he was so good has grown over the years. He was a big back who played like someone 20 pounds lighter. Taylor (below) holds the franchise rushing record (11,695 yards, 62 TDs) and is one of the most beloved players ever in Jacksonville. He was a first-time Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist this year. Darius was the other piece of this class being ranked so high. He had 14 career interceptions and six fumble recoveries in nine seasons. This class has plenty of misses, but the strengths of Fred Taylor and Darius more than make up for it. Cordell Taylor went in the second round and last just one season in Jacksonville and just another one in the league before flaming out.
1. The 1995 draft
Number, Pos., Player, College
2. OT Tony Boselli, USC
19. RB James Stewart, Tennessee
40. OT Brian DeMarco, Michigan State
64. LB Bryan Schwartz, Augustana (S.D.)
71. S Chris Hudson, Colorado
99. QB Rob Johnson, USC
123. DL Mike Thompson, Wisconsin
169. RB Ryan Christopherson, Wyoming
172. OT Marcus Price , LSU
219. WR Curtis Marsh, Utah
Best pick: OT Tony Boselli. Worst pick: RB Ryan Christopherson. GM making the pick: Tom Coughlin.
Why it was so good: This was the first draft in franchise history and Tom Coughlin got it right. Boselli was picked between RB Ki-Jana Carter and QB Steve McNair and went on to become the only Pro Football Hall of Fame selection in franchise history. Stewart rushed for 2,951 yards and 33 TDs in Jacksonville. Schwartz was a quality linebacker and Hudson was a ferocious safety who had eight interceptions and recovered five fumbles. The sleeper pick here was Johnson, who started just one game in place of an injured Mark Brunell and led a miraculous win. Jacksonville parlayed that into trading Johnson to the Bills for a first-round pick who eventually became RB Fred Taylor.