6 picks
#10, 74, 108, 143, 180, 203comp
Safety
What exactly do the Jags have here? Their current starters are Gerald Alexander and Anthony Smith, who is best known for trash talking out of turn when he was with the Steelers. Still, he's a better option than first round bust Reggie Nelson. Entering his fourth season he is no lock to remain on the team with his erratic tackling. It might be too soon for them to consider Texas star Earl Thomas in the first round after being burned by Nelson at #21 in 2007 and Tennessee's Eric Berry likely will be gone, but they need someone who can play in both safety spots.
Wide Receiver
In the 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009 drafts the Jaguars selected two wide receivers. Out of those 8 players, without bogging this down with each player's history, the only quality piece appears to be Mike Sims-Walker. In his third pro season he broke out with 63 receptions for 869 yards and 7 touchdowns. All of those were team leading totals, and to put his impact in perspective the rest of the team had 8 touchdown catches combined. Rookie Mike Thomas had a relatively productive first campaign with 48 grabs, but picked up only 453 yards for a ridiculously low 9.4 average. It was the fourth lowest among regulars in the entire NFL. At least he caught some passes, and it is too soon to evaluate him or fellow rookie Jarrett Dillard whose season was cut short by a broken ankle. Someone needs to be a reliable threat other than Sims-Walker now that Torry Holt is out after one disappointing season. His 51 receptions for 722 yards will need to come from somewhere and given their willingness to take shots in the draft another rookie is not out of the question. Their free agency addition of Kassim Osgood (Chargers) is more about their special teams considering he has caught all of 5 passes from 2005-2009, but given the state of this group using him on offense is an option. Oh, and for some reason Troy Williams was retained for another year. I guess the 8 receptions in two seasons while appearing in 10 games warranting a million bucks.
Linebacker
Of the young players on the roster only Daryl Smith, the oldest, has stood out. Last season he blossomed with a team leading 107 tackles. Clint Ingram, who finished the season on IR and was tendered as a restricted free agent, was out of position on the weak side. In the middle Justin Durant, for lack of a better metric, has watched his tackles total increase in each of his three seasons as a pro. However, he is a relative disappointment and slated to see free agency next year. The best case scenario would be finding someone suited to play the weak side while hoping Ingram and Durant step up their game.
Defensive End
The big splash was signing Aaron Kampman (Packers) who should be happy returning to a 4-3 defense. How inept was this defense at sacking the opposing quarterback? Two players, Denver's Dumervil and Minnesota's Allen, had more sacks than their entire team. They were not only dead last in the NFL it was by a wide margin (8). Kampman's arrival clouded the return of free agent Reggie Hayward whose early season ending injury contributed to the lack of any pass rush, but he eventually signed. Harvey and Groves, the duo drafted early in 2008, have been very ineffective to the point of the team likely adding another end in the draft.
Interior Offensive Line
It was a good year for "Pocket Hercules" in his first season as the primary back, taking over when Fred Taylor was released. However, Jones-Drew had to work very hard for his 4.5 yard average. In 7 of his final 9 games, when defenses should be getting worn down after a long season, he could not muster a single run over 15 yards. His average was only 3.83 during that stretch. The guys responsible for blowing up holes inside are center Meester and right guard Nwaneri. Meester needs to be replaced because he is old and fading while Nwaneri is facing free agency next year and is not very good. Jacksonville has to compete with prolific passing offenses by being who they are, and that means effective running. MJD has to be pumping out more yards down the stretch for them to compete for a playoff spot. That means upgrading at the guard/center spots. In a perfect world a solid center would be brought in to immediately push out Nwaneri and eventually take over for Meester while a late round guard joins the mix as well. Unfortunately they don't really have the picks to execute this.
Quarterback
I don't have much of a problem with the head coach saying his quarterback is not among the NFL's elite. It is the truth. He is average and an upgrade would put them closer to competing in a division with Peyton Manning, Matt Schaub and based on his play this season Vince Young. It is tough to win with the worst quarterback of the bunch. I dismiss the Tim Tebow talk, but someone has to be sought in the draft with only Luke McCown, who is not even the best quarterback in his family, backing up Garrard. They are not equipped to move up for Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen, which means hoping he falls to them or spending a day three pick on a player to develop.
Defensive Tackle
It is really just an issue of depth here. John Henderson is 31, but it's not time to put him out to pasture just yet. Guys tend to play several years into their 30's on the interior, such as Minnesota's Pat Williams, and simply reduce their number of plays. That's where adding a rotational player comes in. If they strike gold again in the draft as they did last year with Knighton all the better because Henderson is not the player he once was. The depth is razor thin with veteran Meier being released. Stanley and Ellison were kept as backups, but can't be counted on for any significant role. If there is an injury to either Henderson or Knighton the middle of their line could resemble a turnstile.
Cornerback
If you read much of my team needs pages you know how highly I value a deep secondary. The NFL these days is all about passing the ball, and with Schaub and Manning on the schedule twice each this is a problem for a team like the Jags without great depth. Brackenridge, an exclusive rights free agent, showed his worth filling in for an injured Mathis and it was a good thing because he has progressively been missing more games every year. After starting all 16 his first four seasons Mathis has played in 14, 12 and last year 10. If the trend holds he will miss half the season. My point is that just in case he does this group has to be fortified. Cox played terrific as a rookie, but let's not put him in the Hall of Fame just yet. We have seen guys stumble to sophomore slumps before. They need to be proactive here and seek out more talent.
