2025 NFL Mock Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars draft defensive tackle

Mason Graham, DT, Michigan

(Channeling my inner James Gladstone) Oh boy! I’m 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’m excited to take whoever remains from the Travis Hunter-Abdul Carter-Will Campbell triad.

(Travis Hunter goes 1) Wait, what? This isn’t what the simulation promised.

(Abdul Carter goes 2) Good Lord, what is happening? PFF, did you lie to me?

(Will Campbell goes 4) I am not crying and physically shaking; I’m just… allergic to the starch they used to dry-clean my hoodie or something.

(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?

Who are the best players available? Pulling up some draft analyst big boards (not that I don’t 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’re smart. Like you know how to allocate resources, so you WILL NOT take Ashton Jeanty.

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.

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’s the best in the game, and he’s 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’s why he took Travon Walker over Aiden Hutchinson. What a doofus! He’d probably take Membou. Great, so I now know what to do / who to avoid.

Now that I have a guy in mind, I have to make sure I’m 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’s just make sure not to rock the boat *too much.* Let’s peruse a couple of more mock drafts, then… Oh wow, EVERYONE has Mason Graham going to the Jaguars, often using the words “marriage of talent and need.” Awesome, so no one will bat an eye when I pick him. In fact, it would look weird at this point if I didn’t! I don’t need that heat, so let’s lock it in.

With the Fifth Pick in the NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select: MASON GRAHAM, Defensive Tackle – Michigan.

About the Player:

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 6’3 to 6’4 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.

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 “devastating push-pull move” (in the words of the Ringer’s 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.

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 “shorter-than-ideal” 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.

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’s 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’t, so this pick is relatively easy. Let’s 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.

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2025 BGN Mock Draft Order

1) Titans (JoeDirtsBarber): Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado2) Browns (kjb304): Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State3) Giants (The Player Formerly Known as Mousecop): Cam Ward, QB, Miami4) Patriots (ReginaldHtower): Will Campbell, OT, LSU5) Jaguars (eaglenomics): Mason Graham, DT, Michigan6) Raiders (dkays)7) Jets (Stick19154)8) Panthers (89Tremaine)9) Saints (FierceDisc65)10) Bears (DrprofBubbles)11) 49ers (granthill7)12) Cowboys (Be subpar for Ja’Marr)13) Dolphins (thehead92)14) Colts (green1us)15) Falcons (All_Hail_Howie)16) Cardinals (Good Bad Ideas)17) Bengals (ablesser88)18) Seahawks (herbalonius)19) Buccaneers (Hoosinole)20) Broncos (Silverlark60)21) Steelers (Dr.MidnightGreen)22) Chargers (LancGuy)23) Packers (Leo Bedio)24) Vikings (krikkebelgium)25) Texans (Aint1stULast)26) Rams (Booth12)27) Ravens (pheebthegoose)28) Lions (Neil Dutton)29) Commanders (Mailata_in_a_Miata)30) Bills (PhilaWolverine)31) Chiefs (niels.rosenquist)32) Eagles (Philly21)

Now it’s time for you to vote for who YOU think should be selected in the 2025 BGN Community Consensus Mock Draft.