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Sunday Night Football's Cris Collinsworth put together his one mock draft for the 2025 draft cycle over at Pro Football Focus, and he had the Jacksonville Jaguars trading back and landing a defensive tackle not named Mason Graham.
Instead of picking at fifth overall, Collinsworth had the Jaguars moving down to pick 10 in a swap with the Chicago Bears, who drafted Ashton Jeanty. Due to the buzz around the Bears and Jeanty, I recently mentioned them as a trade-down partner with the Jaguars. In this trade, the Jaguars received picks 10 and 41.
So, who did the Jaguars then pick at 10th overall? With Mason Graham off the board, the Jaguars took Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen.
“I think he’s a phenomenal player," Collinsworth wrote. "Maybe he didn’t quite live up to the expectations coming out of high school, but I think there’s enough there. We’ve been talking about skill position players in Jacksonville, but I feel like they need to focus on the trenches.”
Nolen had a career year in 2024, totaling 35 pressures and six sacks, while being one of PFF's highest graded run defenders.
“Nobody questions how talented he is and how hard he plays. Super twitched up and really explosive," an NFC national scout told NFL.com's Lance Zierlein.
If the draft played out this way for the Jaguars, I think it would be a terrific start. They address their biggest need with a top talent and gained an additional second-round selection, which is where the strength of this year's draft class lies, in the Day 2 depth.
We will see if it happens, but trading back in the first round does seem to be in play for the Jaguars. ESPN's Adam Schefter would mention the Jaguars as one of a few teams that are "interested" in moving back.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: NFL draft: Jaguars trade down in Collinsworth's mock, pick Walter Nolen
Continue reading...
Instead of picking at fifth overall, Collinsworth had the Jaguars moving down to pick 10 in a swap with the Chicago Bears, who drafted Ashton Jeanty. Due to the buzz around the Bears and Jeanty, I recently mentioned them as a trade-down partner with the Jaguars. In this trade, the Jaguars received picks 10 and 41.
So, who did the Jaguars then pick at 10th overall? With Mason Graham off the board, the Jaguars took Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen.
“I think he’s a phenomenal player," Collinsworth wrote. "Maybe he didn’t quite live up to the expectations coming out of high school, but I think there’s enough there. We’ve been talking about skill position players in Jacksonville, but I feel like they need to focus on the trenches.”
Nolen had a career year in 2024, totaling 35 pressures and six sacks, while being one of PFF's highest graded run defenders.
“Nobody questions how talented he is and how hard he plays. Super twitched up and really explosive," an NFC national scout told NFL.com's Lance Zierlein.
If the draft played out this way for the Jaguars, I think it would be a terrific start. They address their biggest need with a top talent and gained an additional second-round selection, which is where the strength of this year's draft class lies, in the Day 2 depth.
We will see if it happens, but trading back in the first round does seem to be in play for the Jaguars. ESPN's Adam Schefter would mention the Jaguars as one of a few teams that are "interested" in moving back.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: NFL draft: Jaguars trade down in Collinsworth's mock, pick Walter Nolen
Continue reading...
