Luke Fortner will be walking into great opportunity with Jaguars

After five seasons at Kentucky, Luke Fortner decided to switch to center as the veteran took advantage of the extra eligibility year granted by COVID-19. That turned out to be a shrewd move.

In 2021, Luke Fortner turned into one of the best centers in college football and started to catch the eye of many NFL organizations. The prospect had a great pre-draft process looking great on the field at the Senior Bowl and putting together some solid athletic testing numbers. Add in some high-level intangibles, and Fortner turned into one of the most valuable center prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Back at the NFL Scouting Combine, there was one specific franchise that always felt like an option for Fortner. The offensive lineman with two master’s degrees informed media at the combine that the center was speaking with the Jacksonville Jaguars on March 3, and that seemed to go well.

After the Urban Meyer experiment crashed and burned quickly, the AFC South franchise is on its second coaching staff under new general manager Trent Baalke. Last year, the Jaguars got their quarterback of the future at No. 1 overall drafting Trevor Lawrence. However, his rookie season was very rough on the former No. 1 overall recruit.

The cornerstone piece of the franchise needs a lot of help, and the Jaguars decided to find that in free agency. Many thought the AFC South franchise paid above market rate, but veterans Zay Jones and Christian Kirk will upgrade the wide receiver room, and flex tight end Evan Engram will be an intriguing piece for head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor to use. The front office paid big for 2020 All-Pro guard Brandon Scherff to take over on the offensive line, but Lawrence still needs his long-term working partner at center.

In March, Brandon Linder announced his retirement after a long stint in Jacksonville. The 30-year-old was with the Jaguars organization since being drafted in 2014. The new regime must find a new answer in the pivot to work with Lawrence and the re-shaped offensive operation in Duval County.

After going defense-heavy with two first-round selections, the Jaguars appear to be big believers in Luke Fortner. Thanks to experience at guard and playing in multiple schemes at Kentucky, Fortner seems to be a great fit for Pederson who could use a variety of run concepts thanks to the athleticism of Lawrence. The Jags love the versatility of Fortner as a multi-positional player on the line, but this was a pick spent on the Ohio native becoming a starter at center in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars re-signed veteran Tyler Shatley in the offseason to a two-year deal, and the veteran has played over 100 games with the organization. At center, Shatley is the short-term answer, but a new regime is taking over, and changes are going to be made.

A big one could be to give Lawrence his long-term partner at center by allowing Luke Fortner to take over the reins where is intelligence and toughness will be highly valuable in a high-volume communication position.