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Should Jaguars pursue Dwayne Haskins or pass-rusher at No. 7?

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Haskins feeling good after pro day (1:57)

Dwayne Haskins breaks down his pro day workout, the kind of offense he wants to play in and how he's ready for the NFL despite only 14 career starts. (1:57)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars could find themselves in an interesting position when it’s their turn to make the No. 7 selection in the NFL draft on April 25.

Quarterback Dwayne Haskins -- and maybe even Kyler Murray -- could be available. There almost certainly will be several impact pass-rushers still on the board. Probably at least one of top offensive tackles, too.

Here are a couple scenarios that executive vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin and general manager Dave Caldwell could face, operating under the assumption that Murray will indeed be taken with the first pick:

Draft Haskins

There were reports that the New York Giants, who pick sixth, didn’t believe Haskins was a good fit for their franchise and were not interested in drafting him, yet eight Giants coaches, scouts and executives attended Haskins’ pro day. But let’s say the team either bypasses Haskins or trades for Josh Rosen, no other team takes the former Ohio State standout and he’s there if the Jaguars want him at No. 7.

There’s a good argument for the Jaguars to take him and let him learn and develop under Nick Foles for the next few seasons. The Jaguars guaranteed Foles $50.125 million in a four-year contract, but if things don't work out, they could get out of the full deal after 2020 by paying $12.5 million in dead money (and get $20.6 million in cap savings if he’s a post-June 1 cut).

Haskins, who is similar to Foles in that he’s a pocket passer and not a scrambler, would theoretically be ready to step into a starting spot in two years. The Jaguars wouldn’t be reaching in the draft if they took him, and with the rookie wage scale, it’s not a problem financially to carry both of them on the roster, either.

There’s no reason to think that Foles won’t succeed in Jacksonville, even though he certainly doesn’t have the same level of offensive talent around him that he did in Philadelphia. Foles’ consistency should make the offense better and the Jaguars have added several depth players – notably receiver Chris Conley and running back Alfred Blue – as insurance in case Marqise Lee and Leonard Fournette aren’t able to play at the level the team expects.

Best guess: They pass.

Trade down

If Haskins is still available when it’s time for the Jaguars to pick, there’s another possibility: several teams picking after the Jaguars make a call and the Jaguars trade down. Denver, Cincinnati, Washington, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, New England and the Los Angeles Chargers have veteran quarterbacks who are nearing the end of their careers and one team might be willing to move up.

Miami might be willing to wait a year to draft a quarterback, but Tennessee hasn’t extended the contract of Marcus Mariota beyond his fifth-year option and Washington is going with Case Keenum until the Redskins know for sure the status of Alex Smith. They could be interested in Haskins as well.

Detroit and Buffalo pick after the Jaguars, so those teams might get calls as well if other teams believe the Jaguars aren’t going to take Haskins.

Trading down in the first round isn't as easy as it sounds, and it has happened just once in franchise history. That came in 2007, when Denver gave up the 21st overall pick, a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick to the Jaguars for the 17th pick. The Broncos took defensive end Jarvis Moss and the Jaguars selected his Florida Gators teammate, safety Reggie Nelson, at No. 21.

Best guess: Trades aren’t easy to work out, especially for a team coming from the 20s or below into the top 10, and it depends on just how high the demand is for Haskins. The Jaguars stay at No. 7.

Take a tight end

The Jaguars haven’t had an impact tight end since Marcedes Lewis’ 10-TD season in 2010 and only one team had fewer tight end receptions than the Jaguars’ 102 in the past two seasons (Miami had 95). Luckily, it’s a loaded draft for the position.

The top prospect is Iowa’s T.J. Hockenson, and he fits exactly what Coughlin wants in the position: a factor in the run game as a blocker and the ability to make an impact as a receiver. The 6-foot-5, 251-pound Hockenson likely will need to bulk up a bit in the NFL, but he would be a significant upgrade over what the Jaguars got out of the position last season.

Hockenson led the Hawkeyes in receiving yards last season and won the John Mackey Award, given annually to the nation’s top tight end, despite sharing the workload with Noah Fant, who also is regarded as one of the top tight ends in the draft.

Best guess: It’s rare for a tight end to be drafted in the top 10 – only three have been since 1997 (Eric Ebron, Vernon Davis and Kellen Winslow II) – and with the position being so deep, it seems likely that the Jaguars will wait.

Take an offensive tackle

Every starting spot along the offensive line is locked up except for right tackle. The Jaguars this week re-signed Josh Wells, who has eight career starts in five seasons, and last month added former Cincinnati first-round pick Cedric Ogbuehi, who spent much of last season inactive.

The other right tackles on the roster are second-year players Will Richardson and KC McDermott. Richardson was a fourth-round pick last year and the team had hoped he’d be able to compete with Jermey Parnell for the starting spot, but he was not even close to ready and ended up on IR. McDermott signed as an undrafted rookie and spent the season on the practice squad.

Of those players, the Jaguars have the most confidence in Wells, but he has battled injuries throughout his career. Florida’s Jawaan Taylor, Alabama’s Jonah Williams, Oklahoma’s Cody Ford and Washington’s Andre Dillard are possible picks, though Dillard is a left tackle.

Best guess: The Jaguars let the players already on the roster battle for the starting spot and bypass tackle at No. 7.

Take a pass-rusher

Calais Campbell turns 33 in September and at some point he won’t be able to play at the high level he's shown in the past two seasons. Plus, he has a $17.5 million salary-cap figure in 2020. Yannick Ngakoue is regarded as one of the league’s best young pass-rushers and the team is expected to work out an extension for him at some point.

The Jaguars don’t have any pass rush after those two players, however. Dawuane Smoot, a third-round pick in 2017, has no sacks in 24 career games and Lerentee McCray (four sacks in 63 games) is a special-teams player.

So the Jaguars need to add a pass-rusher, and there are several players who could still be on the board at No. 7. Nick Bosa and Josh Allen should both be top-five picks but Montez Sweat, Rashan Gary, Brian Burns and Clelin Ferrell are highly-rated pass-rush prospects. Gary likely fits more as a three-technique defensive tackle and Burns as more of an outside linebacker in a 3-4 (the Jaguars play a 4-2), so Sweat is likely the best option.

He had 22 sacks the past two seasons at Mississippi State and ran a 4.41-second 40-yard dash at 260 pounds at the combine. The Jaguars could use him opposite Ngakoue and move Campbell inside in rush packages.

There is precedent for Coughlin making this kind of move, too. He drafted Justin Tuck in the second round in 2005 and Mathias Kiwanuka in the first round in 2006 despite already having Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora on the roster.

The Jaguars have to face Andrew Luck and Deshaun Watson twice every season in the AFC South, so beefing up the pass rush and preparing for Campbell’s eventual departure should be a priority.

Best guess: This seems like the most likely path for the Jaguars.