With less than a month to go before the draft, it is seemingly down to corner or Receiver for the Jaguars.

April is finally here.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are now less than a month away from the 2024 NFL Draft. Almost inarguably, the team is in a better spot in terms of roster makeup than it was a few weeks ago, and the draft is the last hurdle to shape up the team before the season.

What the Jags are likely to do in the draft is still a mystery, but as evidenced in the discourse surrounding the team’s draft needs, the players the team should target have been immensely narrowed down.

ESPN

In the first of two ESPN mock drafts, Matt Miller details a full seven-round mock. While Miller does pick a player for each of the Jags’ draft slots, the most important on the list is who he has mocked at 17 overall. And that player is Toledo corner Quinyon Mitchell.

With four WRs gone and the full cornerback class available, I think general manager Trent Baalke targets the latter position here. He loves players with elite traits (such as Travon Walker), and Mitchell fits the bill there. The 6-foot, 195-pound senior ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the combine and benched 225 pounds 20 times. He’s fast and physical, and he wins at the line of scrimmage. And his stats speak to his ball-hawking abilities; he broke up 32 passes and picked off six over the past two seasons. Pairing Mitchell with Tyson Campbell — another corner with great traits — forms a really good duo.

ESPN

For the second of this week’s ESPN mocks, former general manager Mike Tannenbaum goes offense with his pick. Tannenbaum thinks the Jags roll with LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

Calvin Ridley went to the Titans, and although the Jaguars added Gabe Davis to a receiver room that includes Christian Kirk and Zay Jones, they need a true No. 1 target. Thomas has the 6-3 size and 4.33 speed to be a difference-maker. He had an incredible 2023 season with 68 catches, 1,177 yards and 17 TDs. Trevor Lawrence will be ecstatic with this pick.

CBS Sports

The combined minds of former Vikings GM Rick Spielman, two-time Super Bowl champion Bryant McFadden and NFL Draft insider Ryan Wilson came together for a league-wide mock, which has the Jags picking Clemson corner Nate Wiggins.

Bryant McFadden — The former NFL cornerback goes back to the CB well by giving the Jaguars the ultra-speedy Nate Wiggins.

The 33rd Team

Marcus Mosher with The 33rd Team agrees with the Tannenbaum mock, and also has Thomas Jr. coming to Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville Jaguars lost Calvin Ridley in free agency and replaced him with Gabriel Davis. That is a clear downgrade, and the Jaguars have to find someone who can make plays down the field. Brian Thomas Jr. has elite size and speed, which is hard to come by. It will take him a bit to get used to being an outside receiver in the NFL, but he is the type of receiver that Trevor Lawrence needs.

Pro Football Network

Joe Broback comes in with a third Thomas Jr. mock to the team. Across the league landscape, it seems that the Jags minus Calvin Ridley just is not going to cut it on offense.

With Calvin Ridley gone, the Jaguars suddenly need a wide receiver, but they’ll have options in the draft. Allowing Trevor Lawrence to make plays will be the best thing this group can do in 2024, but they must upgrade their talent on the boundary. Brian Thomas Jr. came on strong in 2023, and his speed helped him break out for the LSU Tigers. He ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, and now he adds that speed to the Jaguars offense. If he becomes an even better route runner, this offense could jump up a notch.

CBS Sports

The Jaguars’ very own Pete Prisco makes an appearance this week. Prisco comes in with yet another Thomas Jr. selection, again with the idea the team needs to replace Ridley.

They tried to keep Calvin Ridley, but he went to Tennessee. So now they add a speedy, big player to go with Gabe Davis, Christian Kirk and Zay Jones. They could consider corner here as well.

The Underdog Network

Hayden Winks shocks the world with his pick. Out of Louisiana State University, Winks thinks the Jaguars take none other than Thomas Jr.

Jacksonville’s pre-offseason plan wasn’t to lose outside deep threat Calvin Ridley, but they didn’t have enough cap space to retain him once the Titans and Patriots were in a bidding war. I also don’t think the Jaguars want to have Gabe Davis and Zay Jones as their perimeter receivers while Trevor Lawrence plays on his cheap rookie contract. Thomas isn’t the route runner Ridley is yet, but he fills the same role. He caught 15-of-22 deep targets for 12 TDs and 30.4 yards per target last year, then ran a 4.34 forty at 6’3”/209. It’s worth noting the only top-100 selection GM Trent Baalke has made at WR was A.J. Jenkins, who ran a 4.39 forty and had a 38.5-inch vertical.

NFL.com

Another hometown guy in Bucky Brooks makes the roundup, and believe it or not, Brooks thinks the 17th pick is used on a defensive player. Brooks mocks Alabama corner Terrion Arnold to his former team.

Adding a high-IQ cover corner with positional flexibility could help the Jaguars match up with the AFC South’s dynamic offenses.

USA Today

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz likes Arnold for the Jags, thinking the team needs a guy to help shut down the emerging quarterbacks in the AFC South.

Doug Pederson acknowledged Monday that Jacksonville is back in the role of “hunter” in the AFC South after fumbling the division crown down the stretch. In order to better slow down C.J. Stroud and the Texans in the years to come, the Jaguars would be wise to take a long look at Arnold, a sticky asset for man coverage who should help new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen deploy the aggressive tactics he’s hoping to unleash in Year 1.

Yahoo Sports

Charles McDonald and Nate Tice are the only ones to branch out this week, mocking the Jags for a receiver not named Thomas Jr. Instead the pair likes Texas receiver Adonai Mitchell to Duval County.

The Jaguars have a big hole at wide receiver after losing Calvin Ridley in free agency. They can attempt to fill that hole with Mitchell, who has the upside to develop into a true No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL.