{"id":852962,"date":"2025-06-02T22:13:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T03:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/02\/2025-nfl-mock-draft-jacksonville-jaguars-draft-defensive-tackle\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T22:13:06","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T03:13:06","slug":"2025-nfl-mock-draft-jacksonville-jaguars-draft-defensive-tackle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/02\/2025-nfl-mock-draft-jacksonville-jaguars-draft-defensive-tackle\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 NFL Mock Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars draft defensive tackle"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Mason Graham, DT, Michigan<\/strong><\/h2>\n

(Channeling my inner James Gladstone) Oh boy! I\u2019m excited to make the very first pick of my GM career. I may look like I have just graduated from college, perhaps because I decided to rock the perhaps-too-bold hoodie-vest combo during my introductory press conference, but I am ready for this moment. As a late-stage millennial, I have been ripping mock draft after mock draft in preparation for this moment. PFF Mock Draft Simulator, you have positioned me in a winning position, and I\u2019m excited to take whoever remains from the Travis Hunter-Abdul Carter-Will Campbell triad.<\/p>\n

(Travis Hunter goes 1) Wait, what? This isn\u2019t what the simulation promised.<\/p>\n

(Abdul Carter goes 2) Good Lord, what is happening? PFF, did you lie to me?<\/p>\n

(Will Campbell goes 4) I am not crying and physically shaking; I\u2019m just\u2026 allergic to the starch they used to dry-clean my hoodie or something.<\/p>\n

(Jacksonville Jaguars, you are ON THE CLOCK. You have 10) Alright, me, calm down. You can do this. You know what everyone says and knows about James Gladstone; when life punches him in the face, he punches right back. So, what do we do?<\/p>\n

Who are the best players available? Pulling up some draft analyst big boards (not that I don\u2019t trust the esteemed scouts within the Jaguars organization), it looks like most experts have Ashton Jeanty, Armand Membou, or Mason Graham as the top players remaining. James, you want cool NFL people to think you\u2019re smart. Like you know how to allocate resources, so you WILL NOT take Ashton Jeanty.<\/p>\n

Great, so we are down to Membou and Graham. Membou is an athletic offensive tackle prospect, and Graham is a meat-and-potatoes blue-chip defensive tackle from the National Championship-winning Michigan Wolverines. It looks like most analysts have Graham as the better player, and that aligns with our own needs, as we have decent tackles but nothing on the defensive interior. <\/p>\n

Finally, I look up to the sky and recite the mantra I picked up when I got this job: What would Howie Roseman do? He\u2019s the best in the game, and he\u2019s the tops, so I must abide by his word. Well, he loves the trenches! As another final check, I look at the dirt and hiss: What would Trent Baalke do? Probably take some flashy, overly athletic player instead of the demonstrably awesome guy. That\u2019s why he took Travon Walker over Aiden Hutchinson. What a doofus! He\u2019d probably take Membou. Great, so I now know what to do \/ who to avoid.<\/p>\n

Now that I have a guy in mind, I have to make sure I\u2019m covering my butt. Remember, as Joe Shoen and Brain Daboll remind us every year, the true goal of an NFL GM is not to position their franchise for success but to stay employed another year. So this year, let\u2019s just make sure not to rock the boat *too much.* Let\u2019s peruse a couple of more mock drafts, then\u2026 Oh wow, EVERYONE has Mason Graham going to the Jaguars, often using the words \u201cmarriage of talent and need.\u201d Awesome, so no one will bat an eye when I pick him. In fact, it would look weird at this point if I didn\u2019t! I don\u2019t need that heat, so let\u2019s lock it in. <\/p>\n

With the Fifth Pick in the NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select: MASON GRAHAM, Defensive Tackle \u2013 Michigan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

About the Player: <\/p>\n

Mason Graham is, in many ways, a boring meat-and-potatoes pick for the Jaguars. He also happens to be exactly what they need. At a height of 6\u20193 to 6\u20194 and a weight of about 300 to 320 pounds, Graham has great size for the defensive tackle position. In college, he starred both as a pass rusher and run defender, placing above the 95th percentile in both phases according to PFF, recording 3.5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss in his final season at Michigan.<\/p>\n

However, what really gets scouts excited is not his measurables or stats but the way he plays the game. Graham is a high-effort player with an incredible motor and aggressive play style. The high-school wrestling star has an array of moves in his arsenal, including a swim move, a club move, and a \u201cdevastating push-pull move\u201d (in the words of the Ringer\u2019s Danny Kelly). These moves are bolstered by a highly athletic profile, although he did not test at the NFL Draft Combine. All of these features, put together, make him an exceptional prospect.<\/p>\n

Graham is not a flawless prospect, but his perceived flaws are minor. The most significant critiques of Graham come from his physique, as analysts have noted his arms are \u201cshorter-than-ideal\u201d and questioned his body composition in a manner I thought was a bit mean to put in this write-up. Basically, scouts wish he was a bit more jacked. However, when you see how he plays and take into account his production, tape, and other measurables, those worries quickly wash away.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Mason Graham is precisely the type of player the Jaguars need. The Trent Baalke era was made up of style over substance. That failed spectacularly, year-over-year-over-year-over-year. In contrast, Mason Graham disciplines both a defense from the interior and a roster by building it through the trenches. He is also a DOG. He\u2019s an awesome player, has good size for the position, and has a strong projection for both an immediate impact and a lengthy, successful career. These three features, on their own, would be enough to warrant the pick. However, he also happens to fill a considerable need on their roster, specifically because Trent Baalke did such a terrible job in roster construction at the end of the Doug Pederson era. If Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter, or Will Campbell had made it this far, the question would, perhaps, be more difficult. They didn\u2019t, so this pick is relatively easy. Let\u2019s just hope James Gladstone had enough time between the combine and draft to pick up some big boy pants and do what needs to be done.<\/p>\n

\n

Poll<\/span><\/h3>\n

Do you approve of this pick?<\/h4>\n
\n

This poll is closed<\/p>\n