INDIANAPOLIS – The NFL scouting combine is underway in Indianapolis. Player workouts will be held over a four-day stretch from Friday through Monday.
Jaguars brass will look at all of the players, but will pay especially close attention to their key areas of need at wide receiver, offensive line and linebacker. Those are all positions the Jaguars could also address in free agency, which opens on March 14.
On Friday, offensive linemen will work out along with running backs, kickers and special teams players. Wide receivers work out Saturday, the same day as quarterbacks and tight ends. Linebackers will work out Sunday along with defensive linemen. Monday, the final day of workouts, features defensive backs.
The Jaguars hold the 29th pick in the first round. It matches the latest the team has ever selected in the first round. In 2000, following the team's 14-2 season, they selected wide receiver R. Jay Soward with the 29th pick.
The rest of the Jaguars draft choices include
- 2nd round, 61st pick overall
- 3rd round,93rd pick overall
- 4th round, 129th pick overall
- 6th round, 203rd pick overall
- 7th round, 230th pick overall (via Bengals) and 247th pick overall
In 2017, the first draft with Tom Coughlin as the team's executive vice president for football operations, the Jaguars used the fifth pick of the draft to select running back Leonard Fournette, who helped change the physical nature of the Jaguars offense during his rookie year.
"He really did everything that we thought he would be able to do from the standpoint of being the power runner," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said Wednesday at the combine. "I think the one thing that probably surprised us more that we weren’t able to see was his pass catching ability. The other thing you can see with young running backs is that it is rare that they come in on third down and I thought that Leonard really worked hard to get himself prepared for the protection aspect of it."
Unlike last year, when the Jaguars were coming off another losing season, this year, they are a team on the rise. That changes how they will approach their offseason moves and their player acquisition philosophy.
"We have to be cognizant of some guys that are coming up here with Jalen [Ramsey], Myles [Jack] and Yannick [Ngakoue]," Caldwell said. "Those guys are going to command some contracts if they continue to play at the level they are playing at. We have to be careful of what we do this year, but also moving forward. We are still in a really good cap situation. We can afford to be aggressive in this free agency and try to finish off what we started."