2023 NFL “Third & Short” Jaguars Draft

JT: Situational Football

Brent Martineau said it best (and maybe first) when he pointed out that the Jags had some situational football problems last season, most notably 3rd/4th and short yardage plays. This draft seems to have attacked and addressed that very problem more than any other. Head Coach Doug Pederson was being very tongue in cheek when he was asked in the presser after the draft about the new fullback acquisition. He said that the Jaguars were changing. He said pound and ground (though we all know he meant ground and pound). Then he said all that Trevor is going to do from now on is turn around and hand it off. He was obviously joking but in actuality he was telling the truth, the partial truth, and nothing but the half truth. I say partial because that is exactly what Trevor Lawrence will be doing next year, in short yardage scenarios.

With the first pick of the draft the Jaguars took an offensive tackle. Yes, I still believe their hand was forced because of what Cam Robinson did, and yes I believe that there were better value picks on the board at the time (read: DE and CB) but the Anton Harrison pick filled a major (though newly formed) hole in the Jags offense, and frankly the idea of protecting Trevor at all costs is a damn good mantra. As T-Law goes, so do the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kind of scary how QB dependent the league has become. Gone are the days of the Washington Redskins who won three Super Bowls without a single “franchise” QB. Nowadays, the health of that position is paramount to a successful season. So Baalke got himself a Cam Robinson replacement, and not just for the foreseeable future until Cam comes off his suspension. Robinson will cost the Jags a pretty penny, somewhere around $15-17 million in 2024 cap space. Space that will be needed for Trevor’s upcoming, record breaking, contract. But I digress, Harrison will be used to block, both pass and run, but most importantly run. Why? Because the Jags don’t want Trevor risking their franchise on a third and shirt QB sneak anymore.

With the next pick the Jags selected a beast of a tight end from Penn State, Brenton Strange. Strange got a lot of mixed reviews when taken in the second round. Many were wondering that if the Jags always intended to take a TE, why not Dalton Kincaid in round one? He was still on the board, after all. Others were stunned that the Jags didn’t select Georgia’s tight end, who was also still available, and I dare say would have garnered a better grade from the fans. Strange has been graded from a B to a D depending upon where you look. I haven’t seen a single A grade on this draft pick. Was there better value on the board at the time of the pick? Maybe. But at what point does value, or taking the best guy no matter the position, become team specific? Meaning, what is valuable to one isn’t always to another. Will Levis was still on the board when the Jags picked Harrison. Should they have taken Levis because he was a higher value? What if Stroud or Bryce Young were still available? Surely, their value would be higher than that of Harrison. But not to the Jaguars. They have a QB. So value and “best athlete available” is strictly team dependent. Especially to the Jaguars who, as Brent Martineau so thoughtfully pointed out, wanted to draft to solve not just glaring positional holes, but instead solve a situational football issue that cost the Jaguars touchdowns and dubyas last year. So whether you graded the Brenton Strange selection a B or a D, the bottom line is that he is a horse that will display blocking and receiving skills in short yardage play. As a bonus he is a beast after the catch, will allow the offense to run double tight end sets without tipping their cap to the defense that it’s always a run play, and he will be great at pass blocking for added Trevor protection.

With the third pick of the 2023 NFL draft the Jacksonville Jaguars selected the finisher of their situational football conundrum, Tank Bigsby. Bigsby is a North/South shifty and slippery running back. The Jaguars can now be a true load sharing backfield thus helping to preserve and elongate ETNs career. I see the Jags using Tank in the same vein that the Eagles used/use Boston Scott (refresh my memory please, who coached Philly back then?). Tank will be the short yardage specialist. And when you have yourself a Warrick Dunn then you must also get yourself a Michael Joseph Alstott. The Jags went out and got themselves a fullback to lead block for Tank and ETN. Hell, he might even just grab a quick handoff and take it to the bank or past the first down marker himself. With the last pick of the NFL’s 2023 draft the Jags took Derek Parish, FB/DE out of Houston. A fullback and a defensive edge rusher, this kid comes in at 6’2” 245lbs. He can literally sack an opposing QB for a loss on fourth down, then turn around and put a linebacker on his ass allowing Tank or ETN a free path to the end zone. Dougie P. loves him some versatility. I see Jacksonville’s last pick of the draft having more of an impact than several of the picks before him.

Picks 1,2,3 & 13 combine to solve one of Jacksonville’s biggest 2022 problems, situational football. Most notably third/fourth down and short. And for good measure, if those four players need a break, Baalke drafted Jacksonville’s version of Julian Edelman, Wes Welker, and Danny Woodhead. They selected a very tough little bulldog of a short yardage wide receiver in Penn State’s Parker Washington. At 5’10”, 212 lbs, he is a massive addition to an already stellar wide receiver room at TIAA Bank. I have yet to see a grade lower than an “A” for the Washington selection. I’ve watched some highlights of the kid and he is a gamer. John Madden would’ve liked him. If we are thinking further into the future, as GM Trent Baalke needs to always be doing, Parker Washington is Christian Kirk’s replacement. That should save some more significant cap space in the future without having too much, if any, drop off in overall production. Maybe I’m wrong, but maybe, just maybe, it’s something to think about.

So, if I were to sum up the Jacksonville Jaguars 2023 draft in one long, run-on sentence it would be this; Jacksonville did fairly well considering their original plan was to trade down and still draft their number one need (offensive tackle, thank you again Cam) but then use the extra picks to trade back up and address other glaring needs (TE, DE, CB) but it takes two to tango and since JAX found no dance partners, they were stuck with late rounders galore, thus having to make the best of it. Well, I’d say they certainly did that. They solved a major offensive issue with clever draft picks and addressed their defensive woes at the same time. Trent Baalke put a bow on the draft very nicely when he told reporters that they weren’t done yet. There are still vets out there that would greatly help solve the Jags CB and Edge issues. The duo of Trent B. and Dougie P. are still working diligently to bring one or more of them to the First Coast. I’m still championing Chase Young to JAX. If I keep putting it out there, maybe it’ll happen.

Let me know what you think in the comment section below.