Welcome to the Week 14 edition of the Midnight Mailbag! I’ll be asking for your lingering questions after each Jaguars game on 1010XL’s Facebook and X/Twitter pages, with the submission deadline set for 11:59 p.m. the same day.
There were no questions submitted following Jacksonville’s 10-6 win over the Tennessee Titans, so I came up with three of my own.
With the Jaguars mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, wouldn’t it have been better for them to lose out and secure the highest draft pick possible?
The NFL Draft is such a random crapshoot that I don’t think there’s much of a difference between, say, the third overall pick and the ninth overall pick. You’re still going to come away with a great player regardless. Sure, it’d be nice to have as high a pick as possible to attract the best HC/GM candidates available as well as to maybe trade down with a quarterback-needy team, but there’s no need to be concerned about draft order before Christmas. If fans are worried that the Jaguars winning games means Trent Baalke might stay, well, that’s fair.
Did Travis Etienne and Andre Cisco lose their starting jobs on Sunday?
It sure looked like it. Etienne technically started the game, but he only earned 4 carries compared to Tank Bigsby’s 18. He did catch 4 balls for 50 yards, so he’ll continue to be involved in the pass game, but it appears that Bigsby — who also scored the go-ahead touchdown — is officially the lead rusher in Jacksonville. Meanwhile, Cisco did not start the game. He did rotate in starting on drive no. 3 and had a clutch pass breakup on 4th down, but the impending free agent is no longer the top dog in Jacksonville’s safety room.
How good is Brian Thomas Jr.?
By Mac Jones’ account, Thomas Jr. is the team’s best player. The 22-year-old rookie is one of six players with 850-plus receiving yards and 6-plus receiving touchdowns this season (joining Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Terry McLaurin, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Drake London). He’s well on his way to becoming an All-Pro player and a top-three wideout in franchise history (joining Keenan McCardell and Jimmy Smith).
