Sep 25, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars offensive guard Luke Joeckel (76) blocks Baltimore Ravens linebacker Za'Darius Smith (90) during the second half of a football game at EverBank FieldThe Baltimore Ravens won 19-17. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

How the Jaguars Should Have Amended Luke Joeckel Mistake

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By John Shipley | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The Jacksonville Jaguars have made plenty of past draft mistakes. Amongst the biggest in recent memory, though, was the drafting of Luke Joeckel at No. 2 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft.

At the time, Joeckel was seen as a slam-dunk pick by new head coach Gus Bradley and new general manager Dave Caldwell. The Texas A&M product was seen as the safest option in the entire draft, but that didn't quite pan out.

Joeckel only played in 39 games as a Jaguar due to injuries -- five games in his rookie year and then four games in his final season in 2016 when the Jaguars moved him off left tackle and inside to guard.

After a fifth season in the NFL spent with the Seattle Seahawks, Joeckel flamed out of the league and has not appeared in a regular season game since.

Perhaps the worst aspect of the Joeckel pick is the fact that just two picks later, another offensive tackle was chosen -- and this one would go on to be one of the best right tackles in the entire history of the sport.

PFF recently did a re-draft of the 2013 NFL Draft and their choice for the Jaguars at No. 2 was clear. With Travis Kelce going off the board first to the Kansas City Chiefs, PFF gave the Jaguars future Pro Football Hall of Famer Lane Johnson -- who should have been the pick for the Jaguars all along.

"Johnson’s production and consistency continue to impress into his mid-to-late 30s. He has earned at least an 80.0 PFF overall grade in nine of his 12 NFL seasons. He set a career record at the age of 34 with an 88.9 mark in 2024 en route to a second Super Bowl victory with the Eagles. Johnson has also amazingly allowed just six sacks over the past six seasons, spanning nearly 3,000 pass-blocking snaps," PFF said.

Johnson is still going strong today, and eventually he will have a spot in Canton. Perhaps his career would have taken a different path if he was drafted to the Jaguars, but the truth is that he was a better prospect than Joeckel then -- as evidenced by his all-time great athletic testing and his production at Oklahoma.