The Jacksonville Jaguars had an excellent draft in 2014, and did so by keeping their cards close to the vest and making a number of their picks come from schools close to their Central Florida home.
Jaguars Draft Picks
1st round, 3rd – Blake Bortles, QB Central Florida
2nd round, 39th – Marqise Lee, WR USC
3rd round, 61st – Allen Robinson, WR Penn State
3rd round, 93rd – Brandon Linder, G Miami(FL)
4th round 114th – Aaron Colvin, CB Oklahoma
5th round 144th – Telvin Smith, OLB Florida State
5th round 159th – Chris Smith, DE Arkansas
6th round 205th – Luke Bowanko, C Virginia
7th round 222nd – Storm Johnson, RB Central Florida
Jaguars Draft Score 8.5/10
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2014 Jacksonville Jaguars Draft Review
The Jacksonville Jaguars pulled off one of the biggest early shockers of the draft, taking Blake Bortles out of Central Florida and anointing him as the quarterback of the future. Bortles looks the part of a top-ranked quarterback, as he has the size, the arm strength and the athleticism to be a franchise quarterback. He may need to refine his mechanics to improve his accuracy, but apparently the plan is to have him sit on the bench for one year and do just that. What made the pick shocking though is that Bortles was one player that the Jaguars were absolutely not rumored to be after, and we kept hearing that they preferred to draft a quarterback in the later rounds and develop him, rather than taking one with an early pick as they had done, and failed at with Blaine Gabbert.
Coming after Bortles, the Jaguars added two weapons to their offense. With Justin Blackmon never quite living up to expectations, and unable to stay out of trouble finding weapons for the receiving core was a big need. These receivers can grow with Henne throwing them the ball now, and will hopefully be established when Bortles takes over the offense. In Marqise Lee, the Jaguars get their speed threat, whether its going deep, coming over the middle and running after the catch, or making the athletic play Lee has done it all at USC and hopes to bring that to Jacksonville. In Robinson, the Jaguars get a bigger receiver who can be a possession guy and a red zone threat. Overall they are some good weapons to join the Jaguars receiving corps.
The Jaguars went back to the well taking Brandon Linder out of Miami. He played some tackle in college but projects as a guard in the NFL. He has a good frame and is a tough, hard-nosed, gritty type of lineman. He’s a player who makes the most of his talents through extremely hard work, and while some refinement in his technique is necessary, he should get there. Again we can see the plan here with a fourth straight offensive pick, this one for future protection of Bortles.
The Jaguars then took Aaron Colvin, a corner out of Oklahoma who isn’t expected to play much, if at all in 2014 due to an injury suffered during the lead up to the draft (torn ACL at Senior Bowl). Colvin probably could have been a late 1st round/early second round talent if not for the injury, so the value here is very high, and he could be a future starter. The fact he won’t contribute right away is of little concern to a team that isn’t expected to really compete in 2014, but is building for future years.
The Jags got great value in getting Telvin Smith in the fifth round. Another prospect out of a home state school, this time Florida State, LWOS’ Alex Sibo had him rated as third round talent. Smith is as athletic as they come, and one of the fastest linebackers in this draft. He may lack the strength to play in early downs, but could be an outstanding coverage linebacker and pass rusher used in a variety of ways on third down. If he improves his coverage skills he could even be fast enough to be a strong safety.
In Chris Smith the Jaguars got another situational defender. He can rush the passer, but is probably not strong enough to be effective against the run at the NFL level.
With their last two picks Jaguars got back to building the offense and helping out Bortles. Luke Bowano, adds more protection to the offensive line, but he wasn’t one of our top ranked centers in the draft. It is questionable if he’ll ever be more than a backup. The Jags had a major need at center and tried to address it in signing Alex Mack to an offer sheet but we know that didn’t work out. Instead they waited until very late in the draft to take a center. This might have to be addressed before the season begins by looking at remaining free agents or the waiver wire and NFL cuts.
In the final round the Jaguars took another UCF prospect in Bortles backfield mate Storm Johnson. Johnson has great speed, but he looks more like a third down back and special teamer than a true three down running back prospect, as his ability to run the ball between the tackles at the pro level is a question mark.
Overall the Jaguars got three potential immediate starters (plus a fourth if they start Bortles) in this draft. They also got a player they consider a future franchise quarterback, a potential future starter who they will likely stash on the injured list, and some players who can contribute in specific roles for the team. The failure to address a need at center is the biggest criticism I make of the Jaguars draft, and thus give them a solid 8.5/10.
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