2020 NFL Draft Grades: Jacksonville Jaguars swing for the fences
By Evan Bachman
LSU. 1. player. Edge. Ka'Lavon Chaisson. 52. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis
Due to trade rumors around franchise-tagged star Yannick Ngakoue, there was a lot of speculation that the Jacksonville Jaguars could take an edge rusher in the 2020 NFL Draft and they did with their second first-round pick of the night by selecting LSU edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson.
Chaisson will likely replace Ngakoue on the edge opposite of last year’s first-round pick Josh Allen. Chaisson has the look of an elite edge rusher. He has good size (6-foot-4, 250 pounds), long arms, and freakish athleticism. The only physical trait that he lacks his length, his arm length is just 32 1/4″, which is concerning for edge rushers.
He didn’t participate in the combine, but if he had he surely would have put up some ridiculous testing numbers. If you just watch his highlight reel you’d sware he’s a future star, he’s capable of some very impressive plays, but playing edge rusher isn’t just about the flashy plays, but also consistency and that’s what he struggled with at LSU.
Last season he recorded 6.5 sacks which aren’t terrible any means, but you’d expect more from a first-rounder. What worries me about him more however is that he just doesn’t beat offensive tackles at a high rate. According to Pro Football Focus, last season he had a pass rush win rate of just 13.1%, which is less than many other edge rushers who were available here including Yetur Gross-Matos, A.J. Epenesa, Julian Okwara, Terrell Lewis, Curtis Weaver, and Josh Uche.
While he didn’t produce as much as you’d want him to out of a first-round prospect, there’s no doubt that he has experience playing against good competition. In this draft, the SEC has produced three first-round offensive tackles this year with Alabama’s Jedrick Wills and Georgia’s Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson coming off the board tonight.
Ultimately, while there’s no doubt that Chaisson is a remarkable talent, his lack of production in college is very concerning for me. I would rather bank on someone who’s already proven that they can produce well in college to translate to the NFL. To me this along the same thinking as the Henderson selection, since they won’t be contending next year they take someone who probably won’t good in year one, but could be a star in year four.