Jaguars land Andre Cisco with opening pick of Round 3
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected safety Andre Cisco out of Syracuse in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, 65th overall.
Cisco is the second defensive back selected by Jacksonville in this year's draft after the Jaguars took Georgia cornerback Tyson Campbell at the beginning of Round 2.
Jacksonville has prioritized secondary upgrades this offseason, signing cornerback Shaquill Griffin from the Seattle Seahawks and Rayshawn Jenkins from the Los Angeles Chargers before adding Campbell and Cisco.
Known for his range, Cisco figures to spend most of his snaps in coverage for the Jaguars.
Draft profile
Key stats (2019): 65 tackles, 5 INTs, 5 passes defended, 1 TD
Cisco is a bona fide ball hawk. With the athleticism to cover sideline-to-sideline and ball skills to create turnovers on a consistent basis (13 interceptions in 24 games at Syracuse), he has the rare single-high safety profile that should have defensive coordinators salivating. He'll need to be more disciplined at the next level, both in terms of taking chances in coverage and being a consistently effective player in the run game. But if his recovery from an October ACL injury goes smoothly, it may not be long before he's outperforming his draft position. Today's NFL is all about the passing game, and Cisco's rare coverage traits give him the upside of a big-time playmaker in that department.