The 2025 NFL Draft is hours away, and reports indicate the Jacksonville Jaguars will make the first major move of the big event. Currently holding the fifth-overall pick, first-year head coach Liam Coen and general manager James Gladstone have the opportunity to select one of the top players on the board. However, they don’t stand a realistic shot at truly elite talents like Colorado’s Travis Hunter or Penn State’s Abdul Carter. However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said the team is plotting to trade up to the 1.02, while The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini said Jacksonville is “preparing for fireworks.”
Could the Jaguars trade up to No. 2? They’ll likely try.
— Ian Rapoport (@rapsheet.bsky.social) April 24, 2025 at 12:13 PM
https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js
REPORT: Jaguars Trying To Trade Up In NFL Draft
The Tennessee Titans will take Miami quarterback Cam Ward with the first-overall pick. Everything after that, however, is a complete unknown. While every team’s draft board is different, consensus believes Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter are the two best players in this class. Hunter is perhaps the most unique prospect to come out of college in recent memory, as the Colorado product excels at cornerback and wide receiver and will reportedly try to play both positions at the professional level.
Carter, meanwhile, is easily the best pass rusher in this class. While he isn’t the biggest player by any means, he excels as a speed rusher and a bull rusher and has double-digit sack potential. Either player could be a good fit for the Jaguars, as Jacksonville needs receivers, cornerbacks, and pass rushers. However, while nothing is official yet, Russini’s report suggests Jacksonville could go in a different direction.
Who Could They Draft?
Russini reports that “an offensive player is on [Jacksonville’s] radar”, which seemingly takes Abdul Carter out of the equation. Travis Hunter is both an offensive and defensive player, so perhaps he’s their choice with the second-overall pick. Conventional wisdom would lead to this conclusion, but there is more to be seen here.
In her tweet, Russini used a picture of Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty as the background for her quote. This is an interesting choice, as it suggests the Jaguars plan on selecting him with the second- or fifth-overall pick. Jeanty is a phenomenal player who deserves every ounce of praise he’s received, but he doesn’t play an important position. While Saquon Barkley’s dominant season helped revive the market, running back is still one of the least important positions in football. Using a top-five pick on the position is questionable enough, but trading to the second-overall pick for a running back that would probably be there at five is a borderline firable offense.
As of this posting, the Jaguars have Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby set to battle it out for starting duties. Etienne is coming off a disastrous season, while Bigsby showed some life after a rough rookie campaign. Jeanty would easily be the best back on this roster, but would the Jaguars trade up in the draft while passing on elite talent at premier positions? Only time will tell for sure. Perhaps Jeanty is their fallback plan if they cannot get the second-overall pick.
Main Photo: Corey Perrine – Imagn Images
The post REPORT: Jaguars “Plotting” Blockbuster Draft Trade appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.