Jacksonville Jaguars Top 3 Team Needs: 2027 NFL Draft

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Jacksonville Jaguars Top 3 Team Needs: 2027 NFL Draft

Originally posted on TWSN | By Steve Bradshaw | Last updated Jul 29, 2026 10:18 AM ET

2025 was a huge success for the Jacksonville Jaguars as they had a massive turnaround under Liam Coen.

In 2024, Jacksonville went just 4-13 on the year. This past season, the Jaguars were able to completely flip that, finishing with a 13-4 record.

The Jaguars went from one of the bottom-tier offenses in the NFL rankings, 26th in points scored in 2024, to one of the best, ranking 6th in 2025.

Ultimately, the Jaguars couldn’t take down the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card as they would lose 24-27.

In 2026, Jacksonville has a 52% chance to make the playoffs per one sportsbook, which is good but not great when you look at their roster from last year. For reference, that’s tied with the Dallas Cowboys and significantly below a team like the Cincinnati Bengals at 63%.

It’s clear that while there’s reason for optimism, this roster still needs to improve if they want to bring a Super Bowl to Jacksonville.

1. Cornerback

Starting out, you have Montaric Brown and Travis Hunter as your two starters (projected per Ourlads). Brown has been solid but not great, and there are plenty of questions with Hunter.

The biggest one is that, assuming Hunter does play wide receiver and cornerback like he was drafted to, can he handle being a CB1 in the NFL while not seeing his offensive production dip? It’s possible but also a ceiling case that’s tough to bet on.

Coen continues to say Hunter will play both ways https://t.co/3K2Ib9pRjX
— Rotoworld Football (@rotoworld_fb) July 23, 2026

Ideally, if the Jaguars can have Hunter be an elite CB2 and Brown be a great depth piece, that would put the defense in a good spot.

2. Defensive Tackle

DaVon Hamilton and Arik Armstead look to be the two starters for 2026. Starting with Armstead, not only is he 32 years old, but he’s a free agent in 2027. Hamilton is 29 and becomes a free agent in 2027 as well.

It doesn’t seem as if this will be a huge problem for the upcoming year, but it’s a question that needs a long-term solution in the 2027 NFL draft.

3. Running Back

As I’ve mentioned in other team need articles, these rankings are based on positional value in the NFL draft. You could argue that running back is the biggest need on this team, and it makes sense after losing Travis Etienne.

There’s hype around Bhayshul Tuten, but he’s a former fourth-round pick whom I’ll continue to argue would be a much better RB2 than RB1.

HC Liam Coen on the expectations for Bhayshul Tuten in his second year, via @PSchrags:

"Now just go be you, like go do what got you here. Go be special, that's who you are. And we're definitely expecting Tuten to have a big year for us." pic.twitter.com/nJIHhZqgV0
— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) July 23, 2026

Regardless, this is a team that is in a spot where taking a running back that can be a star or superstar makes sense. Even beyond that, Chris Rodriguez Jr., who the Jaguars just signed to a 10-million-dollar deal (2 years), isn’t the ideal backup.

This article first appeared on TWSN and was syndicated with permission.

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