Jaguars Rumors: Defense, Joeckel, Draft

The Jaguars are getting a first-hand look at talent in this week’s Senior Bowl, Hays Carlyon of The Florida Times-Union writes. Jacksonville will likely end up taking an underclassmen with its first-round pick, but the club’s coaching staff could definitely be working with its future second-, third-, or fourth-round picks this week.

“When you’re there and you’re coaching it, it’s unbelievable,” coach Gus Bradley said. “You find some things about guys that you really like and then you find some things out that you say, I think you have to be careful that you don’t jump to conclusions. It’s just a piece of the puzzle. There’s a lot of good information. We get a chance to visit with both teams. To me, who does it help? It helps all of us. … We can knock out 80 guys or 90 guys or however many it is. That part is great.”

Here’s more on the Jags:

• According to Carlyon, it would be surprising if Jacksonville doesn’t use at least six of its draft picks this spring on defensive players to help improve 2015’s unit. In a separate Times-Union piece, Carlyon quotes Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell on the subject. “We feel good about the offense right now,” Caldwell said. “We still have a ways to go and aren’t done by any means, but we’ll really focus on the defensive side of the ball. Getting [Dante] Fowler and [Sen’Derrick] Marks back will help us, then we have cap space and eight draft picks to fix the rest of the needs.”
• Adding pass-rushing help will be a priority for the Jaguars this offseason, per Caldwell (via Carlyon). “We have a need there, whether it’s two more or three more,” the GM said. “You can never have enough pass rushers. There were a handful of games we were winning in the fourth quarter. If we had some pass rush, we could have closed half of them out. If we had, we’d been playing in January.”
• Caldwell says the club has not yet begun discussions about re-signing any of its free agents or exercising the fifth-year option for left tackle Luke Joeckel, as ESPN.com’s Mike DiRocco writes. Joeckel, a former No. 2 overall pick, started 14 games in 2015.
• Caldwell also said he doesn’t see the Jaguars trading up in the first round (Twitter link via DiRocco). The Jags, who finished 5-11, currently hold the No. 5 pick in the 2016 draft.

Zach Links contributed to this post.