Jaguars Banking Big on Maason Smith in 2025

For months -- and months and months -- the Jacksonville Jaguars were linked with Michigan Wolverines defensive tackle Mason Graham at No. 5 overall.

Instead, the Jaguars bucked conventional thought and traded up to No. 2 with the Cleveland Browns to take Travis Hunter. The Browns then took Graham at the Jaguars' original slot at No. 5, though sources with knowledge of the situation have since informed Jaguars On SI that Graham would not have been the pick at No. 5 if the Jaguars had stuck at the pick.

The reasons why the Jaguars were never actually going to draft Graham can be debated, and only really the Jaguars' staff truly knows.

But one thing that anybody observing the Jaguars' moves can know one thing about the situation: the Jaguars will need Maason Smith to prove them right in a big way.

Smith was drafted in the second-round by the previous regime, so the current Jaguars' brass has no ties to him. And had Graham been selected, it would have been tough to see Smith playing a giant role in 2025.

But with the Jaguars passing on Graham, and every other defensive tackle in the draft, the pressure has been ramped up on Smith. He will get his chance to shine alongside Arik Armstead and DaVon Hamilton, and he needs to take advantage of it.

The same can be said for the entire defensive line unit surely, but it is Smith who could be the biggest benefactor from the Jaguars not drafting a defensive tackle.

"I think that whole group is about to take a jump. They're working their tails off right now, and you can tell that there's a connective element that's coming to life in a short period of time," Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said after the draft.

"So we certainly look forward to seeing I think guys being different positions than they've been in the past and that being an element that activates different sides of them. Their whole approach has been great so far, so we're looking forward to it.”

If Smith reaches his potential and proves the Jaguars right, it will only make the Hunter trade look better. It is time for him to prove whether he can.