If the early portion of the 2026 NFL draft were to play out in an ideal fashion for the Jacksonville Jaguars, what would have to happen?
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Ryan Smith of Pro Football Focus recently answered that question. The goal for the Jaguars, as Smith noted, should be to add depth along the interior defensive line.
Defensive tackle is one of the Jaguars' biggest positions of need this offseason. Along with needing to add depth and competition, Jacksonville needs more pass-rush juice from this unit as well.
So how should the Jaguars hope to address this need? If you ask Smith, it's landing Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller.
"Christen Miller may not make it to the Jaguars in the second round but would be an ideal landing spot if he fell to them as a 6-foot-4, 310 pound defensive tackle that was elite when defending the run in 2025 (90.2 PFF run-defense grade) while also showing the ability to rush the passer at a high level with a 11.3 pass-rush win rate from the interior," Smith wrote.
Miller has played 1,031 defensive snaps over the last three years. Between the 2024 and 2025 seasons, he has totaled 38 pressures and one sack, lining up mostly in the B-gap, according to PFF.
Miller has made a big impact in the run game and has been one of PFF's highest graded run defenders at the defensive tackle position in each of the last two seasons.
"Miller is an even-front nose tackle who can rattle pads and gain early advantages at the point of attack. He has good stack-and-shed against single blocks but lacks the prototypical mass of a space-eater," wrote NFL.com's Lance Zierlein.
As Smith mentions, Miller may not be available when the Jaguars are picking. He is the fifth-ranked defensive tackle on Mel Kiper's big board. Many recent mock drafts have Miller going in the latter portion of Round 1.
The Jaguars boasted the top run defense unit in the NFL last season, but as already mentioned, need a more steady pass rush presence from this unit.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: 2026 NFL draft: Christen Miller named best-case scenario for Jaguars