Missouri football offensive tackle Javon Foster is officially an NFL rookie after being picked by Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Jags used a fourth-round pick — No. 114 overall — on the experienced tackle, who became the fourth Mizzou player to come off the board and the third on Friday. He follows defensive end Darius Robinson (Arizona Cardinals, No. 27); cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (Detroit Lions, No. 61) ; and linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper (Green Bay Packers, No. 91) as Tigers who have heard their names called.
Foster, a Detroit native who played his high school football at Southfield (Mich.), heard his name called by the Jaguars live from his home city. He was a mainstay along Mizzou's offensive line for the past few seasons, and now is headed to the league.
Here's what Foster brings to Jacksonville, based on his career with Missouri football :
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Experience — and experience at a high level.
Foster spent the past three seasons as Missouri's starting left tackle. Over the course of his six-year college career, Foster played 50 games for the Tigers — with his best work coming in his final campaign.
He protected quarterback Brady Cook's blind side at a level that earned him AP All-American third-team and All-SEC first-team honors.
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Foster's biggest strength is no secret, and should translate well to the league. He's big and plenty strong.
The offensive tackle checked in at 6 foot 5.5, 319 pounds, at the combine. He has long arms (34⅝-inches) and big hands (9⅝ inches).
The questions will be whether that will make up for what he lacks in athleticism. He isn't the fastest and doesn't possess the best ability to change direction. That didn't hurt him all too often in college, but against NFL-caliber pass-rushers, he'll need to find a way to figure that out or offset what he lacks with his strength.
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Foster was a team captain and top performer along an offensive line that went from a weakness on Missouri's team to a Joe Moore Award semifinalist — the award is for the nation's top O-Line — in the space of one season.
Storied Missouri running back Cody Schrader thrived following Foster's blocks. He ran for 1,627 yards in 13 games last season, and Foster can take plenty of the credit for that.
Missouri's offensive line managed to keep its quarterback upright pretty well in 2023, allowing an average of two sacks per game. Now, Foster has the task of keeping former No. 1-overall pick Trevor Lawrence clean.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Jacksonville drafts Javon Foster in 2024 NFL Draft: Pros, cons of pick
