Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone speaks during a press conference next to head coach Liam Coen at the Miller Electric Center, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Finding the Perfect Draft Prospect for Jaguars

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Jan 15, 2026 3:55 PM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars might not have a first-round pick in 2026, but they have plenty of draft picks to work with.

The Jaguars are entering the offseason with 11 draft picks, including four in the first three rounds. And with that amount of picks comes stress for the Jaguars to take advantage of their window and turn the picks into productive draft classes.

Jacksonville found several impressive rookies in the 2025 offseason, but which prospects make sense for the Jaguars in 2026? While it is extremely early in the process, Pro Football Focus recently pointed out one perfect prospect for each team and landed on a fascinating choice for the Jaguars.

Perfect Prospect

Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Jaguars have plenty of clear needs as they progress into the early days of the offseason. It remains to be seen exactly what their main focus will have to be in April because they still have to sort out free agency first, but it stands to reason that the Jaguars will want to add some young talent at defensive tackle one way or another.

Jacksonville used a variety of veterans to fill key roles along the interior defensive line in 2025, but two (Austin Johnson, Dawuane Smoot) are on expiring deals. This led PFF right to one of the draft's best interior defenders in Texas Tech's Lee Hunter, who also played for Auburn and UCF during his college career.

Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"The Jaguars went all in on Travis Hunter in last year’s draft, leaving them without their first-round pick in 2026. Jacksonville failed to address its defensive tackle group in last year’s draft despite it being one of the team’s biggest needs," PFF said.

"The Jaguars cannot afford to do the same this year, as none of their interior defenders ranked even in the top 45 in PFF overall grade. Hunter’s 84.5 PFF run-defense grade this season ranked eighth among FBS defensive tackles. He’s a better pass rusher than one would expect for a 330-pounder, placing second in the Big 12 with 26 pressures this year."

Ben Queen-Imagn Images

The Jaguars got solid pass-rush production from Arik Armstead before his hand injury late in the season, while DaVon Hamilton had a fantastic season as a run-defender. Otherwise, the Jaguars leaned on veteran role players like Johnson and Matt Dicker as Maason Smith failed to take a second-year leap.

Whether Hunter, who profiles as a nose tackle, is the right kind of defender for the Jaguars to hone in on remains to be seen. There is a lot of time for the draft process to play out, but he is at least a name worth filing away when it comes to the Jaguars' options with their second-round pick.