Jaguars' draft caps off offensive line overhaul
The Jaguars went into the 2025 offseason intent on 'setting the dish' for quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Upon the news of Mitch Morse's retirement and Brandon Scherff set for free agency, the interior of the Jaguars' offensive line became a bigger need than initially thought.
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Thus, Jaguars' GM James Gladstone went into Free Agency and the Draft with a sense of urgency to upgrade the Jaguars' front line. And, he did just that.
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Of the Jaguars' 14 rostered offensive linemen, six of them are newly acquired, whether through Free Agency or the Draft. Those six include Patrick Mekari, Robert Hainsey, Chuma Edoga, Fred Johnson, Wyatt Milum, and Jonah Monheim.
After Free Agency, Gladstone still felt the team needed some pieces along the interior. In the third round, the Jaguars selected Wyatt Milum from West Virginia and then took Jonah Monhaim from USC in the seventh.
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Let's dig into some numbers from the Jaguars two new offensive linemen. In 2024, neither Milum nor Monheim allowed a sack.
In fact, according to PFF, Milum hasn't allowed a sack since his freshman season in 2021. Over his last three seasons, totaling 1,155 pass-block snaps, Milum did not allow a single sack and allowed just one quarterback hit in 2022.
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The last two seasons, no West Virginia quarterback has been touched on account of Wyatt Milum. It's for these reasons why Milum was PFF's highest graded tackle in pass-blocking.
His 99.1 Pass-Block Efficiency was tied for seventh among FBS tackles. As mentioned previously, Monheim also did not allow a sack in 2024 either.
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In fact, all six of Monheim's career sacks allowed came when playing tackle. Over his 16 starts inside, Monheim was an iron fortress protecting his Trojan quarterbacks. Monheim certainly has the experience, playing over 3,000 snaps over his collegiate career.
He also saw considerable snaps at four of the five offensive line positions and was twice named a team captain at USC. His best assets are his experience, versatility, and intangibles.
It will be interesting to see where exactly these two players fit in within the Jaguars offensive line unit. Milum primarily played left tackle in college, however, he figures to move inside, while Monheim played everywhere before settling into center his final season.
Can Milum compete with Ezra Cleveland or Patrick Mekari for a starting guard spot? Can Monheim overthrow Luke Fortner to become the Jaguars new backup center?
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These will be two talking points throughout training camp. For now, we will just have to wait and see.
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