Unorthodox draft picks raise questions. Can Ventrell Miller lead the linebackers? What's the plan for Travis Hunter? Edge rusher depth remains a concern.
The Jacksonville Jaguars exited the 2026 draft with what some NFL watchers say are questions that still need to be answered, as the team's unexpected selections left many analysts scratching their heads.
Among them, NFL.com's Kevin Patra on Tuesday posed several key post-draft questions for the Jaguars: Can Ventrell Miller become the lead linebacker? What is the plan for Travis Hunter? And will Jacksonville get enough defensive production from the edge with Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen?
No Lack of Linebackers
One of the team's lead linebacker roles was left open by Devin Lloyd’s departure to the Carolina Panthers in free agency, and head coach Liam Coen said on March 31 that Miller is the next man up.
Patra quibbled, and mistakenly wrote that "the Jags didn't draft a linebacker."
"(Miller) was always going to get the first crack at replacing Lloyd in the middle of the defense," Patra wrote. "But not selecting a rookie to potentially push Miller is somewhat of a surprise."
However, Jacksonville did draft a linebacker, Middle Tennessee State’s Parker Hughes, in the seventh round.
Hughes is coming off a career-best season with the Blue Raiders, recording a career-high 100 tackles. The 240th overall pick likely will not immediately challenge Miller or veteran starter and captain Foyesade Oluokun or frequent starter Dennis Gardeck. But that's not to say Hughes won't earn a spot on the depth chart, which is currently thick with linebacking talent.
Gardeck re-upped with the Jags on March 9, signing for two addition years and $12 million. The Jags also expect the return of one of their gems from last year's draft, linebacker Jalen McLeod, who was sidelined with an ankle injury for the entire 2025 season. And backing up Miller and Oluokun is Yasir Abdullah, a gamer entering his fourth year in the league after being drafted by Jacksonville in 2023.
Jacksonville also has Jack Kiser, who was taken in the fourth round in 2025 after playing six years at Notre Dame. Kiser logged respectable minutes in the Jags' first 14 games last year, mostly on special teams, but filled in on defense more as the season wore on. He suffered a hamstring injury ahead of Week 16 and was placed on injured reserve to end his season.
Hunter's Role Still Unclear
As for Hunter, the question remains: at which position will the Jaguars want their No. 2 pick from 2025 to focus his efforts?
Hunter played two-thirds of his snaps on offense during his rookie season and the rest on defense. Those percentages may lean more defense next season, according to both general manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen, who both have stressed Hunter will continue to play both sides of the ball, but with more snaps where the team will need him most. Given the Jags' holes in the secondary and upcoming expiring contracts, that need will be on defense.
Jacksonville’s sixth-round selections in this year's draft could further signal an increase in Hunter’s snaps on defense. Baylor receiver Josh Cameron and Stanford receiver CJ Williams were the Jaguars’ two picks in the sixth round.
Cameron is built like a running back at 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds, and rarely dropped the ball at Baylor. Williams may need more time to develop, but finished his senior season with 749 yards and six touchdowns, etching his name in Stanford record books.
With a receiver core of Brian Thomas Jr., Jakobi Meyers, and Parker Washington, with Cameron and Williams in developmental roles, it could mean Jacksonville has enough depth to focus Hunter’s abilities on the defensive side of the ball.
Meyers became a Jaguar in a mid-November trade with the Las Vegas Raiders and quickly inked a three-year, $60 million contract extension in December and became one of Trevor Lawrence's favorite targets.
Washington is coming off a career-best year with 895 yards and five touchdowns in his third season with Jacksonville, and the team is currently in talks with their 2023 sixth-round pick for a contract extension.
Jacksonville also has signed free-agent receivers that went undrafted last weekend: Brady Boyd (Utah State), Alex Bullock (South Dakota State), and Ben Patterson (UT Permian Basin).
The Jaguars bolstered their receiver depth, but Hunter will still affect the game at wideout, given his Heisman Trophy-winning skills and otherworldly talent at the position.
Sparse Pass-Rushing
Heading into the draft, edge rusher was assumed to be a positional need for Jacksonville. The team drafted two edge rushers -- Duke’s Wesley Williams (round four, No. 119) and Washington’s Zach Durfee (round seven, No. 233).
However, Patra still questioned the Jaguars’ ability to rush the passer.
Williams finished his final year with the Blue Devils with two sacks and a 61.6 pass-rush grade, which ranked 578th of the 852 qualified edge rushers in college.
Durfee ended last season with four sacks as a Husky. Both selections’ best sack days are in previous years -- Williams with eight in 2024 and Durfee with 11 at Sioux Falls, a Division II school.
Walker and Hines-Allen can pressure the quarterback and generate sacks, as Walker recorded 42 pressures and four sacks and Hines-Allen totaled 95 pressures and nine sacks.
The duo combined for 137 pressures and 13 sacks, but the production decreases when backups enter the fray. Matt Dickerson, B.J. Green II and Danny Striggow all played under 200 defensive snaps, which is 300 less than Walker and 600 less than Hines-Allen.
Dickerson recorded two sacks, Striggow was credited with 0.5 sack and Green II did not record a sack. Jacksonville did add T.J. Bollers (California) as an undrafted free agent.
The Jaguars bolstered depth at edge rusher in the draft and undrafted free agency, but production outside of Walker and Hines-Allen remains an unanswered question for the team.
Jacksonville’s draft selections were unusual, as the team prioritized player intangibles through the draft. While some picks answered some questions for the Jaguars, others left them unanswered, as many wonder how it will be answered next season.
Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!