Grades are in: Jaguars '21 draft

May 03, 2021 at 09:54 AM

John Oehser

Jaguars Senior Writer

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) hands the ball off to running back Travis Etienne (9) during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Wofford, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Richard Shiro)

JACKSONVILLE – The picks are in.

With that being the case, and with the 2021 NFL Draft now well in the rear view, let's take a look at how the analysts viewed the Jaguars' first draft with Head Coach Urban Meyer and General Manager Trent Baalke. The Jaguars' '21 draft class:

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, No. 1 overall (Round 1); Clemson running back Travis Etienne, No. 25 overall (Round 1); Georgia cornerback Tyson Campbell, No. 33 overall (Round 2); Stanford offensive tackle Walker Little, No. 45 overall (Round 2); Syracuse safety Andre Cisco, No. 65 overall (Round 3); Southern California defensive tackle Jay Tufele, No. 106 overall (Round 4); Alabama-Birmingham edge defender Jordan Smith, No. 121 (Round 4); Ohio State tight end Luke Farrell, No. 145 overall (Round 5); and Georgia Tech wide receiver Jalen Camp, No. 209 overall (Round 6).

Here's a look at how 12 analysts saw the Jaguars' class:

*Nate Davis, USA Today: A+. "End of the day, even if the only prerequisite to obtain Lawrence was going 1-15, getting a generational prospect like the Clemson star pretty much makes this a near-perfect draft with the subsequent picks serving as gravy – even if the gravy here is scrumptious," Davis wrote.

*Luke Easterling, Draft Wire: A. "It's hard to screw this up when you start with Trevor Lawrence, and the Jags did a solid job of surrounding him with young talent and hitting most of their big needs in the subsequent rounds," Easterling wrote.

*Eric Edholm, Yahoo!Sports: B. "The Jaguars collected talent at pretty much every position of need, plus a few more that were not in dire shape. Clearly, the class centers on Lawrence, and that pick essentially was a gift. Overall, it was a solid group with one clear star," Edholm wrote.

*Ryan Fowler, The Draft Network: A. "Head coach Urban Meyer envisions Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne will provide the 1-2 punch for the next decade, and so do I. Add in my sleeper tackle prospect in Walker Little and the uber-physical Jay Tufele, and Jacksonville is off to a great start to its rebuild." Fowler wrote.

*Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News: B+. "The Jaguars got an immediate B for Urban Meyer and GM Trent Baalke by winning the Lawrence lottery. After Lawrence, Cisco and Tufele were easily the next best picks for defensive needs," Iyer wrote.

*Danny Kelly, the Ringer: A+. "I didn't love the value Jacksonville got by selecting a running back with the 25th overall pick, but I still thought the Jags came away with an excellent group of players this weekend. The Lawrence selection carries most of the weight in this grade, but the team added future starters on all three days of the event," Kelly wrote.

*Mark Maske, Washington Post: B. "You're supposed to get really talented players when you have the picks that the Jaguars had. So, the bar is high for evaluating whether they got sufficient value out of their selections," Maske wrote.

*Connor Orr, Sports Illustrated: C+. "The Jaguars got Trevor Lawrence … and then the draft took a turn for the strange," Orr wrote.

*Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: B. "They took some risks, taking two players — Andre Cisco and Walker Little — who have had ACL tears, but this is a draft that will be defined by how good Lawrence becomes as a quarterback. If the other risks pay off, this is a home-run draft," Prisco wrote.

*Prisco, CBS Sports (on No. 1 overall selection/quarterback Trevor Lawrence): A+. "Lawrence will change the dynamic of this franchise for the next decade. They will win a Super Bowl," Prisco wrote.

*PFF.com: B+. "The Jaguars kicked things off with the no-brainer decision to take Trevor Lawrence with the first pick of the 2021 NFL Draft — a selection roughly five years in the making," PFF.com wrote.

*Chad Reuter, NFL.com: A-. "Jaguars fans are excited about new head coach Urban Meyer and new franchise quarterback Lawrence, who possesses the physical and mental aptitude to be an outstanding NFL passer," Reuter wrote.

*Ben Rolfe, Pro Football Network: B+. "The Jacksonville Jaguars started their draft off in the best way possible with Trevor Lawrence. However, questionable selections such as Travis Etienne at 25 were not quite so impressive. Their B+ grade shows that overall they had an impressive haul in the 2021 draft," Rolfe wrote.