JACKSONVILLE – The 2024 NFL Draft is good in many areas – and deep in a few, too.
Perhaps nowhere is the draft as good early as on the offensive line, and it is considered particularly strong at tackle – and deep there through the early rounds.
"It's a really good class," NFL/Jaguars Media analyst Bucky Brooks said. "When we talk about the depth of the draft, the line class will be one of the top positions when we look at the class in total."
Joe Alt, an offensive tackle from Notre Dame, is widely projected as the draft's top lineman – with tackles JC Latham of Alabama, Taliese Fuaga of Oregon State and Olumuyiwa Fashanu of Penn State also widely projected in the Top 15-to-20 selections.
"They're all different flavors," NFL Network Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. "They're all really talented. When you look at that top group of guys, I would say you're talking about Alt, Fuaga, Fashanu, Latham.
"Those are pretty unanimous. Whatever order you have them, those are kind of the top four guys."
It's hardly unusual for offensive line to be a premium draft-day position – with 38 tackles, 14 guards and seven centers selected in Round 1 in the last 10 drafts. Twelve tackles have been selected in the Top 10 during that span, with Georgia tackle Andrew Thomas at No. 4 overall to the New York Giants in 2020 the last Top 5-drafted lineman.
The record for most tackles selected in Round 1 is seven in 2008, with Brooks saying this year's class could surpass that. Troy Fautanu of Washington, Amarius Mims of Georgia, Graham Barton of Duke and Tyler Guyton of Oklahoma also project by many analysts as Round 1 possibilities.
"It's a loaded tackle class," Jeremiah said. "There are 10, 11 guys that are really interesting. I think we'll see a bunch of starters, a bunch of day one starters out of that tackle group."
Added ESPN Analyst Field Yates, "Once we get past the initial run of tackles, at some point you find guys you know you can win with. They may not end up being 10-year Pro Bowl players, but they can be starters for a handful of seasons, and you feel good about them."
The line class also reflects a changing dynamic in NFL and college, with multiple players in the group able to play right and left tackle – and with others able to play multiple other positions along the line.
"They're really good players that are kind of plug-and-play players," Brooks said. "The interior has guys who can play multiple positions. Barton is a guy that might be No. 1 on somebody's board as a center, but also a top five or top six player at tackle.
"Everyone's playing musical chairs early in college, so they're better prepared to play multiple spots when they get to the pros."
HANDICAPPING THE JAGUARS
This is an area to watch for the Jaguars in the draft – and they enter the draft in good position here. They moved aggressively in free agency, re-signing guard Ezra Cleveland after obtaining him in a trade-deadline trade with the Minnesota Vikings last November. Perhaps most notably, they signed center Mitch Morseas a free agent after the 10-year veteran's offseason release by the Buffalo Bills. The Jaguars also opted to retain left tackle Cam Robinson and right tackle Brandon Scherff, having selected right tackle Anton Harrison No. 27 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. While Robinson/Cleveland/Morse/Scherff/Harrison gives them a strong potential starting line, Robinson and swing tackle Walker Little are entering the final years of their contracts, with Scherff and Morse both entering their 10th NFL season. That combination of contract situation and age could make either an interior lineman or a tackle – or someone who could play both – attractive for the Jaguars as early as No. 17 overall in Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
--John Oehser
CHANCE JAGUARS TAKE AN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN IN ROUND 1
High – though perhaps not as high as cornerback.
OLs ON THE JAGUARS ROSTER
On the roster:
- Cam Robinson (left tackle)
- Ezra Cleveland (left guard)
- Mitch Morse (center)
- Brandon Scherff (right guard)
- Anton Harrison (right tackle)
- Walker Little
- Luke Fortner
- Chandler Brewer
- Blake Hance
- Jimmy Murray
- Keaton Sutherland
- Cole Van Lanen
- Darryl Williams
BUCKY BROOKS' TOP 5 2024 OFFENSIVE TACKLES
- Joe Alt, junior, Notre Dame
- Taliese Fuaga, senior, Oregon State
- Olumuyiwa Fashanu, junior, Penn State
- Amarius Mims, junior, Georgia
- JC Latham, sophomore, Alabama
BUCKY BROOKS' TOP 5 2024 INTERIOR LINEMEN
- Graham Barton, senior, Duke
- Jackson Powers-Johnson, junior, Oregon
- Christian Haynes, senior, Connecticut
- Cooper Bebe, senior, Kansas State
- Zac Zinter, senior, Michigan
POSSIBLE FIRST-ROUND OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Alt; Fashanu; Fuaga; Mims; Latham; Troy Fautanu (interior/tackle), junior, Washington; Powers-Johnson; Zach Frazier (interior), junior, West Virginia; Tyler Guyton (tackle), junior, Oklahoma.
