Challenge for Jaguars in addressing top need in 2026 NFL draft

Arguably, the biggest position of need for the Jacksonville Jaguars entering the 2026 NFL draft is at defensive tackle. Depth, competition, and more pass-rush juice are needed. Although the Jaguars were the NFL's top run defense last season, the interior defensive line in particular struggled to generate steady pressure, especially late in the season.

The potential hurdle, however, when trying to address the pass rush in need in the draft, is that finding those players isn't always easy. On Thursday, GM James Gladstone was asked if this year's defensive tackle class has any pure pass rush prospects available. "It's typically the case that the guys on the inside, they tend to do a pretty good job at holding up against the run more than they would rush the passer," Gladstone said.

"That's typically the case. So it's actually more abnormal to be somebody that's sacking the QB at a regular tick on the interior. So, by default, it's typically going to be the way you describe the inside of the defensive line.

So, I think there's plenty of reason to think that over the course of the next four years, some of these guys are going to surprise the narrative. " To Gladstone's point, having a dominant interior pass rush presence available in the draft would be what is unusual, given the nature of that position group. So this year's draft class isn't all that different from previous years.