West Bloomfield grad selected in fourth round of NFL Draft by Jacksonville Jaguars

WEST BLOOMFIELD — With the NFL Draft taking place in Detroit this year, it was only right for homegrown players to find out where they’ll continue their professional journey in the very place it started.

Becoming the second Michigan native and University of Missouri football team captain to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, offensive lineman Javon Foster, a Detroit native, was selected in the fourth round (114th overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars April 27.

A first team All-SEC honoree, Foster started all 13 games at left tackle for the Tigers and was named Third Team Associated Press All-American in 2023.

Foster, a 2018 West Bloomfield graduate, is only the second Laker to ever be drafted to the NFL, behind Matthew Judon, who was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

Standing at 6 foot 5 and 313 pounds, Foster turned heads at the senior bowl, a national showcase for NFL prospects, with his physicality.

According to NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein, Foster is “very capable as a zone blocker” and possesses a “nice approach to diversifying his punch to keep rushers guessing.”

Foster is currently slotted third on the depth chart at the left tackle position for the Jaguars, but NFL insiders expect him to potentially challenge for the left guard position where the Jaguars traded with the Minnesota Vikings to acquire Ezra Cleveland last season.

Foster allowed only one sack last season as part of a dominant Tigers offensive line that helped the team end its season in the top-10 of the AP Poll for the first time since 2013.

Regardless of the obstacles Foster may face at the next level, he said he reflects on his mother and grandmother as motivation each day.

“Those are my two ‘why’s’ that really motivate me,” Foster said in his NFL Scouting Combine interview. “Just my mother being a U.S. mail carrier in the city of Detroit, the snow could be up to her knees and she would never complain. She always worked hard and went out there to provide for me. That’s, honestly, what I reflect on and think about. With my grandma, I kind of lost her at a young age, but she always wanted me to do everything at 110% and give it my all.”

Foster will be, at the very least, a much-needed addition to a Jaguars’ offensive line in need of talented depth in the trenches.

“For me, I’m just a dominant offensive lineman,” Foster said. “I’m always competing and always trying to win. Each day in practice, I’m going to bring it.”

Foster was one of six players drafted from the Missouri football program this year, which is the most since 2009 for the school.

Call Sports Writer Jonathan Szczepaniak at (586) 498-1090.