Who Does ESPN Give Jaguars In Way-Too-Early 2025 Mock Draft?

ESPN goes a surprising direction with the Jaguars in their latest mock draft.

Sep 30, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; LSU Tigers offensive linemen Emery Jones Jr. (50) lines up prior to the snap during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Mock drafts set nearly a whole year before the next draft rarely age well. Heck, this is the writer who mocked a third-round pass-rusher to the Jaguars in a first-round early mock.

With that in mind, it is always interesting to review mocks to see which players may be the ones to watch for the upcoming college season and where some future roster holes may pop up.

That is exactly what ESPN's Matt Miller sought to do in his way-too-early mock draft. And while there is plenty of projection involved in such a project, Miller still gave the Jaguars a relatively surprising selection with LSU offensive tackler Emery Jones at No. 15.

"The biggest weakness on the Jacksonville roster is at offensive tackle; Anton Harrison struggled on the right side as a rookie, and Cam Robinson was among the worst run-blocking left tackles in the league last season. But Jones -- who starts at right tackle for the Tigers -- has easy movement skills despite a 6-foot-6 and 315-pound frame, and I see the agility and balance to play left or right tackle in the pros. He has to clean up some timing issues, but his jump from freshman starter to sophomore standout (seven sacks allowed in Year 1 compared to four in Year 2) showed his potential."

- Matt Miller, ESPN

There does seem to be some disconnect between what some national pundits think about Anton Harrison's rookie season and what the Jaguars saw. This is the second such article from ESPN to list Harrison as a player who struggled as a rookie, while the reviews from Jacksonville are a stark contract.

Harrison has been praised by the coaching staff and front office for his play and consistency as a rookie, with his worst game coming against All-World Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones in Week 2.

"But as far as Anton’s ability to play right or left, this year what he did as a rookie.  Coming into the National Football League and going up mano-mano on some of the best pass rushers, a gauntlet of pass rushers throughout the course of the year; you look at the pressure rate that he gave up and a guy that wasn’t given a lot of help in terms of chips and double teams and protection," Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said after the season.

"You got to be nothing but proud of how he handled himself as a rookie. He’s only going to get better, there’s another young guy that really loves the game, loves to work and loves to compete. We expect great things from him. Do we feel like he can play left? Absolutely we do.”

Harrison had the lowest pressure rate of any rookie offensive tackle in 2023 after playing the most pass-protection snaps of any rookie tackle in football in the last two seasons. Of all offensive tackles over the last two seasons with at least 700 pass-protection snaps, Harrison's 27 pressures are the second-fewest behind Brian O'Neil in 2022. 

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