Deep Dive on How Jaguars Can Win NFL Draft

In just a few days, the 2025 NFL Draft will kick off in Green Bay, Wisconsin. There will be the usual slam-dunk moves, head-scratchers, and picks that will only look good in several seasons' time. Unfortunately, only hindsight is 20/20 when it comes to drafting.

Last year, the Jacksonville Jaguars managed to walk away as a big winner in the 2024 NFL Draft thanks to a trade back to get Brian Thomas Jr. But how did they make it happen?

Eachyear, 32 franchises look to minimize risk and set themselves on the path toward the Lombardi Trophy through the NFL Draft. A single draft won’t win a Super Bowl (though the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 1974 class puts that theory to the test), but stacking good drafts will.

Likewise, bad drafts can set franchises back—a lot faster also.

It is no surprise that the best drafting teams typically end up in the postseason, but what does that really look like roster-wise?

These are the 14 teams that made the playoffs in 2024, alphabetically:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

A total of 355 players on offense and defense contributed to those 14 playoff teams. Look beyond trades and free agency. How did those 355 players enter the league? That tells you the story of draft value—and how to make the most of it.  

Here is how the 355 offensive and defensive contributors of the 2024 playoff teams shaped out by position:

• 14 quarterbacks

• 14 running backs

• 42 wide receivers

• 14 tight ends

• 28 offensive tackles

• 42 interior offensive linemen

• 28 safeties

• 54 “defensive backs” (explained below)

• 42 off-the-ball linebackers

• 39 defensive interiors

• 38 edge rushers

Now, an aside on how I got to some of those numbers.

Gone are the days of the base 3-4 and 4-3 defenses. Just about everyone uses multiple; the number of linebackers, defensive interiors, standup rushers, and defensive backs vary on any given play.

Defenses are fluid where they were once rigid.

For example, defensive backs are a tough position to sort out when it comes to the modern game; a more microscopic look into cornerbacks, nickels, and safeties and where they fall into the defense, considering the way modern disguises are used, requires a fine-tooth comb.

It varied for each team based on prior knowledge, but I typically took the top four snap-getters listed as “cornerback” for the position. I imagine a good number of nickels fell in with the cornerbacks a few times, just as a few of the top snap-getters listed as “safeties” would probably be classified as nickel-type defensive backs.

To put it simply, the top five or six defensive backs were normally the ones which were considered.

Off-the-ball linebackers were equally tough. Outside of a handful of stalwart players of the highest caliber, the linebacker position has become very situational and down-based. You can thank the proliferation of the passing game for that (though traditional downhill backers might be making a comeback).

I usually went with the two or three off-ball ’backers that played the most snaps.

The top three snap-getters at defensive interior were considered for each team. (It varied, though, as the odd number suggests; defensive fronts might see the most change play-to-play).

Edge rushers are a whole other story. The “edge umbrella”, as I call it, holds many positions—the true defensive end (think Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett), the standup rusher (Buffalo’s Von Miller, the current incarnation of Khalil Mack).

Then there is the 3-4 linebacker hybrid position that has been mastered by Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt.

Even then, it’s all so fluid! They all stand up at some point, some of them that are typically upright will put a hand in the dirt. But I digress—the fluidity of modern defenses.

For this research, quarterback was obviously the easiest position and I only considered the top running back (for a two-back team like Detroit, I went with Jahmyr Gibbs).

The top three wide receivers, the No. 1 tight end, and the five offensive line positions, apart from some jumbled interior position play, were obvious.

It should be noted that a team like Detroit, ravaged by injury on defense beyond the point of recognition, was considered based on how I knew a healthy team would look.

So, the draft pick data was based on a healthy Lions defense, as it tells the story of good drafting more accurately.