When Jacksonville general manager Trent Baalke called Tank Bigsby on Friday night to tell the running back the Jaguars had selected him with the 88th pick in the NFL Draft, it was the first time he’d heard from the team since Auburn’s pro day on March 21.

But the Jaguars knew all they needed to about Bigsby to consider him the right choice in the third round, Jacksonville general manager Trent Baalke said on Friday night after former Jaguars great Fred Taylor had announced the pick in Kansas City, Missouri.

“At that point in time, we felt what he brings to the table, his physicality, the way he runs it between the tackles was something that we needed to add to the rotation,” Baalke said. “It’s going to be like coach said: It’s great competition. You got a room with guys that have now got to go earn it, and that never hurts.”

Bigsby seemed to be relieved on Friday night that he had a single destination instead of 32 possibilities.

“It’s a dream come true,” Bigsby said. “Very excited. Just ready to get to work. The stress level went down. It’s like I’m on a team, I can get to work, I know where I’m at, so I’m very excited.”

Bigsby didn’t like the uncertainty that comes with the draft and did not know the Jaguars were so interested in him.

“I woke up nervous,” Bigsby said. “You never know. I didn’t know, so me personally just sitting there, I didn’t know. I was nervous the whole time. I was nervous when the draft first started because you don’t know where you’re going to end up. You don’t know how it’s going to be. You don’t know, so I’m glad it’s in a great place around great people. …

“I didn’t know, and I was so surprised because it’s so confusing how all these teams reach out to you the day of, the day before, and they just throw you off. The teams that bring you in on 30 visits and stuff like that, it throws you off. And I didn’t know. I honestly didn’t know. I was so shocked when I saw 904. I was like, ‘Florida. Wow.’ It was crazy.”

Bigsby led Auburn in rushing in each of his three seasons on the Plains. He completed his career for the Tigers with 2,903 yards and 25 touchdowns on 540 rushing attempts and 448 yards on 62 receptions.

Travis Etienne served as the centerpiece of the Jaguars’ running game in 2022 with 1,125 yards and five touchdowns on 220 carries in 17 regular-season games.

Running back D’Ernest Johnson signed with Jacksonville in free agency last month after four seasons as a backup with the Cleveland Browns. Johnson has 738 yards and three touchdowns on 141 rushing attempts and 31 receptions for 229 yards during his NFL career.

Joining Etienne as holdovers in the Jaguars’ backfield are Jamycal Hasty and Snoop Conner. Hasty had 194 yards and two touchdowns on 46 carries and 20 receptions for 126 yards and one touchdown in 2022. Conner had 42 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries last season.

“I feel really good about that room,” Jacksonville coach Doug Pederson said. “There’s a lot of depth there. There’s some great competition that’s going to show up when we get into training camp, obviously, with the pads on and really see how these guys do. We understand even with Snoop, it’s a big opportunity for him this year to take a step forward and grow and see where he’s at as a pro. It’s one of our stronger rooms, obviously, on the team, and I’m excited about that.

“And the type of person that Tank is – again, he’s another one that we met at the combine and just love the way he runs. He’s a smart guy. He understands fronts, defense and knows what he’s looking at. He’s a smart runner. We just got to get him in here and get him started.”

Jacksonville chose Oklahoma offensive tackle Anton Harrison in the first round on Thursday night. Before adding Bigsby on Friday night, the Jaguars picked Penn State tight end Brenton Strange in the second round.

“We feel really good about the value we got,” Baalke said. “We got two good football players at key positions that add a lot of depth and versatility to what we want to do offensively.”

Jacksonville is just getting started in this year’s draft. Of the 157 selections to be made on Saturday, the Jaguars hold 10 of the picks.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.