JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When Dave Caldwell walked out of the Jacksonville Jaguars' war room on Saturday night, he had just finished putting together his sixth draft class as the franchise’s general manager. With a little luck, none of the seven picks will have to make a single start this season.

That’s a good thing, though, because it means the Jaguars’ roster is in such good shape that a rookie doesn’t have to come in and be a regular starter. It has been a long time since that has been the case in Jacksonville, and it’s the best proof that the Jaguars aren’t going to be one-year wonders and are legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

“Somewhere down the road [they’ll be counted on to be starters],” Caldwell said. “If they come in and play [this season], that is a bonus too. Like Coach [Doug Marrone] said today, we are not just going to say, ‘Hey, take it easy for the next two years.’ Those guys have to come in and compete.”

First-round pick defensive tackle Taven Bryan joins one of the best defensive lines in the NFL. Defensive end Calais Campbell was a first-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler in 2017 after recording a career-high 14 sacks. Defensive tackle Malik Jackson and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue were also Pro Bowlers last season, and nose tackle Marcell Dareus, added midseason via trade, is a former Pro Bowler.

Bryan has the luxury of working behind that group, and his biggest task this season might be making sure he picks up the right items on the right days for the veterans. As Jackson put it in an Instagram post: Doughnuts on Friday, Chick-fil-A on Saturday and Popeyes for the team charter on road trips.

“It is a great opportunity,” Bryan said. “Those guys are Pro Bowlers. There is a mix of old and young guys. They are definitely good at what they do, seeing this past year. I’ll come in and try to learn everything I can from them and try to pick their brains as much as I can and try to do as much as I can to help the team out.”

The Jaguars lost receivers Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns but re-signed Marqise Lee and added Donte Moncrief in free agency. With second-year players Keelan Cole (who led the Jaguars in receiving yards as a rookie) and Dede Westbrook returning, there’s no pressure on second-round draft pick D.J. Chark the way there was on Robinson, Lee and Hurns when they were rookies in 2014.

The Jaguars don’t have to rush Chark’s development. If he’s ready for a bigger role by Week 4, great, but he doesn’t have to be thrust onto the field before he’s ready the way Cole was last season because of injuries to Robinson and Hurns.

Third-round pick safety Ronnie Harrison is going to get reps behind entrenched starters Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson and then likely take over as a starter in 2019 if the Jaguars decide to move on from either. They will count a combined $15.3 million against the salary cap and have just $1.6 million in dead money in 2019, so the Jaguars can move on from one or both with little penalty.

Fourth-round pick Will Richardson has the best chance to start of any draft pick, but right tackle Jermey Parnell has played well when he has been healthy. The 32-year-old Parnell has battled groin and knee issues the past two seasons but missed only four starts since signing with the Jaguars in 2015. Richardson will compete with Parnell and also get a look at guard, but unless he outplays Parnell, it’s likely that he is the reserve swing tackle and takes over as the starter in 2019.

Not since 2006, when the team’s top two picks were tight end Marcedes Lewis and running back Maurice Jones-Drew, have the Jaguars not slotted their top picks into immediate starting roles. They combined to start four games as rookies, and Lewis took over as a full-time starter in 2007 and Jones-Drew in 2009, though Jones-Drew figured heavily into the running back rotation with Fred Taylor in his first three seasons.

The Jaguars have the luxury of having one of the better rosters in the AFC -- their appearance in the AFC title game last January was not a fluke -- and though it isn't perfect, there aren’t any glaring holes. That allowed the Jaguars to use a different philosophy when drafting: taking the highest-rated player on their board instead of taking the highest-rated player who filled an immediate need for a starter.

“Competition is great,” Caldwell said. “You don’t know how this season is going to go. We were fortunate last year. We stayed relatively healthy on that side of the ball. That is not the norm. The more depth you can have and be prepared for any situation, then the better off you will be.”