The Jaguars’ brass may not have all its faculties for Thursday’s NFL Draft after the team’s chief football strategy officer fell victim to a ‘Meltzerdriver’ during Wednesday’s All Elite Wrestling show in Jacksonville.
Tony Khan, the son of Jags owner Shad and owner of the AEW, got his first taste of kayfabe wrestling with some help from late 90210 actor Luke Perry’s son, Jack, who was returning from a recent suspension.
The scene involved Nick Jackson, one of the ‘Young Bucks,’ leaping off the top rope and onto a restrained Tony, who appeared to be knocked out by the impact.
The dramatic episode ends with Shad – who owns both Fulham and the Jaguars – rushing into the ring to check on his supposedly injured son.
Wrestling fans will need to tune into Thursday’s NFL Draft to see if Tony is sporting a neck brace or missing from the team’s war room altogether.
Tony Khan (right) is pictured alongside wrestler Jack Perry, the son of late actor Luke
Shad Khan rushes to his son’s side after Tony fell victim to a ‘Meltzerdriver’ on Wednesday
Is Tony Khan hurt? Will he be available for Thursday’s NFL Draft? What will the Jaguars do?
For Tony, it was his first real action in the ring. But real or not, the piledriver comes at a time when the team is preparing to pick 17th in the NFL Draft.
More specifically, Tony is being counted on to give quarterback Trevor Lawrence some help on Thursday, and that might come in the form of a wide receiver.
The Jags have selected nine wideouts over the first three rounds of the NFL draft in three decades of existence, and only two of those guys (DJ Chark and Allen Robinson) notched 1,000-yard seasons and just one (Marqise Lee) signed a second contract with Jacksonville.
It’s a head-scratching stretch of futility the Jags hope to end in 2024. General manager Trent Baalke and coach Doug Pederson are expected to take a shot at changing the franchise’s fortunes at the position during the NFL draft next weekend.
The Jaguars have five of the first 116 picks, with three of those scheduled for the first two nights of the draft.
Cornerback remains the team’s top need after releasing starter Darious Williams and opting not to re-sign nickelback Tre Herndon. Jacksonville also has fellow starter Tyson Campbell entering the final year of his rookie contract.
The Khan family and the other Jaguars executives are trying to arm Trevor Lawrence with help
Baalke responded by signing journeyman Ronald Darby to a two-year, $8.5 million contract in free agency, but Darby is far from a building block for new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. Alabama’s Terrion Arnold or Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell would make the most sense with the 17th overall pick.
But no one should be surprised if Jacksonville takes a receiver there, either.
The Jaguars lost Calvin Ridley to rival Tennessee in free agency, and Zay Jones is entering the final year of his contract; he signed a three-year, $24 million deal in 2022.
Baalke did land Buffalo’s Gabe Davis on a three-year, $39 million deal last month, but Davis is considered more of an upgrade from Jones than a replacement for Ridley. Drafting a receiver early appears to be a given, especially as the Jaguars continue building around quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. and Xavier Worthy of Texas could be options at 17. Whoever it is, the Jags can only hope he turns out better than all of their other early round receivers.
They missed on R. Jay Soward in 2000 and have been chasing it since. Their receiver draft list includes Reggie Williams (2004), Matt Jones (2005), Mike Sims-Walker (2007), Justin Blackmon (2012), Allen Robinson (2014) and Lee (2014).
More recent misses are Chark (2018) and Laviska Shenault (2020).