Jaguars traded up for Duke EDGE Wesley Williams, a high-motor rusher with versatility to impact the interior pass rush.
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Duke EDGE Wesley Williams with the 119th pick in Day 3 of the NFL draft.
Jacksonville traded up five picks to select the 6-foot-3, 265-pound EDGE. Williams' selections could add more depth behind Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen.
Williams spent all three seasons as a Blue Devil, leading them to multiple bowl games and helping the program win its first ACC championship since 1962. He totaled 130 tackles (53 solo), four passes defended, 11.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery throughout his collegiate career.
The Gainesville, Virginia native recorded 43 tackles (21 solo), one pass defended and two sacks in his junior year. Williams' pass-rushing saw some regression in his final year, as he had six fewer sacks than in his 2024 season.
Williams posted decent combine scores with a 72 production score (16th), 66 athleticism score (23rd) and 63 total score (29th). He ran a 4.89-second 40-yard dash, 1.68 10-yard split, vertical jumped 35" and broad jumped 10' 0."
Finishing with a 5.99 prospect grade, he is projected to become an average backup or special-teamer selected in the fourth or fifth round.
Despite his combine numbers, Williams is a high-motor edge rusher whose intensity is hard for opposing offensive linemen to match at the line of scrimmage. While he lined up on the edge at Duke, NFL analyst Lance Zierlein highlighted the potential to slide Williams inside the line.
"His sack production was bolstered by secondary rush effort, so it would make sense to slide him inside on passing downs," Zierlein wrote in his combine bio. "Rushing from the interior would allow him to use his cross-chop and edge-to-edge movements against guards instead of tackles."
Williams potentially offering Jacksonville some versatility across the line could open other opportunities for him to climb the depth chart.
The Jaguars added more depth to their defensive line in the past week and a half. They traded for Ruke Orhorhoro from the Atlanta Falcons and selected Texas A&M's Albert Regis with the 81st pick in Day 2 on Friday.
Jacksonville is beefing up its pass rush, as it was an area the team struggled with last season.
Trading up five picks to select Williams could suggest that coach Liam Coen, general manager James Gladstone and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile saw talent they could develop into a potential contributor.
Draft Grade
A
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