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1 June - July 2015 | First Coast Register

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RegisterJune - July 2015 Ponte Vedra Jacksonville The Beaches

St. Augustine & Amelia Island

FIRST COAST SUMMER INSIDE THE 2015 JAGUARS DRAFT CLASS

WHOS WHO ON THE

FIRST COAST

First Coast Register | June - July 2015 33

THE 2015 JAGUARS

DRAFT CLASS

HOPE FOR THE

HOPELESS

by JORDAN E. FERRELL


The Kentucky Derby is over, the all-but-riveting $200 million prizefight is in the books and the 2015 NFL Draft has come to a close. Its almost that time of the year again and Jacksonville is starting to buzz with high hopes and zealous expectations. This 2015 NFL season could show signs of realignment with a bevy of trades already executed and a star-studded selection of draft picks, who will hopefully prop up some of the weaker divisions, such as the AFC South which has fallen quite far since 2007 when it achieved a combined overall record of 42-22 (.656) and a combined conference record of 30-10 (.750) that is still tied for best of all time with the 2013 NFC West.

The fear of disappointment is not to be trifled with. There is always a lot of hype that surrounds these excitable rookies well before the time their name is even called on stage by our chief magistrate, Rodger Goodell. Blown knees, weapon charges and drug addictions are a tough thing to foresee. There is no telling what these athletes are capable of once you grease their palms with enough money to buy a fleet of automobiles and enough liquor to fill up a pool. The fun and games dont stop once you leave the schoolyard. Strictly business doesnt equate to total maturity.

Being cynical is the easy thing to do when you have witnessed a solid decade of top-notch athletes who leave the NCAA and venture into the NFL only to become beached whales stinking up the sidelines with their fat salary cap slices of the pie. The morbid sentiments run deeper as you witness favorites from your alma mater go the same route. Any professional gambler knows the favoritism stops here.

While it may be tough to accept for those dyed-in-the-wool fans out there, the Jaguarsalong with the Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Bucshave been circling the drain for sometime now. Jacksonville has been showing small signs of improvement with every new season though and the excitement that Shad Khan has been able to bring to the whole Jaguar experience is keeping the meat in the seats over at EverBank Field. This years annual draft party was a perfect example of that excitement that Khan is generating among the fans. The days of game-day blackouts are over for Jacksonville and the tide appears to be turning.

The draft ratings are in and Jacksonville, according to some of the professionals in sports analysis, is among the top teams in terms of picks. Both Sports

Illustrated and CBS Sports gave Jacksonville an A for the draft and NFL.com went as far as giving them an A+, which was the only team in the AFC besides the Cincinnati Bengals to earn such a grade.

Jaguars are coming, said Sports Illustrateds Chris Burke. Maybe not in 2015, maybe not in 2016, but soon. This draft without question kept this franchises positive momentum, from a talent standpoint, rolling in the right direction.

Senior NFL Columnist Pete Prisco echoed this sentiment, complimenting the Jags on their general manager David Caldwells job in just his second year with the team.

His [Caldwells] draft board is loaded with talent, said Prisco. This team is moving in the right direction and this draft will go a long way in helping that

happen.Lets get down to

brass tacks here. Some of Jacksonvilles picks are more familiar than others, as tends to be the case in most NFL drafts, but one thing Jacksonville seemed to be consistent withby complete coincidence or absolute purposewas focusing on southern dexterity. Five-of-eight Jaguar picks where players from southern colleges, three of them from the SEC and the other two from the ACC. Its common knowledge that the SEC is a powerhouse

conference in NCAA football and has been for a long time. The ACC, on the other hand, housed the defending champs of the national title this year and is without a doubt making a strong push in the right direction with the addition of Louisville and the improvements seen in the programs at both Georgia Tech and Duke.

Speculations aside, every Jacksonville fan should agree that having players from UF, FSU, Alabama, Louisville and South Carolina will do nothing but bolster more fans for the Jaguars. The rubes that are usually hunkered down in their bunkers on Sunday, mourning a game day loss or avoiding church, will come crawling out in full support of a player theyve been watching for three college football seasons. Everybody else may have hated Christian Laettner, but when he went to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 1992, you can bet your bottom dollar that every Duke alumnus became a temporary Timberwolves fan despite the teams disastrous record during his tenure there.

And lets face it, its impossible to turn over a stone


in this town and not find at least one or two Alabama fans itching to yell Roll Tide! or even a closet Louisville fan that is still raw about that gut-wrenching, overtime loss to Michigan State in the NCAA basketball tournament a couple months ago. The fandemonium will ensue and Jaguar jersey sales will tick up, mark my words.

Round One Thursday, April 30, 2015 Jaguar Draft Party

As a Jaguar fan by birthright and having never actually encountered the extravagant draft party that the team has put on for the past decade or so, it was absolutely imperative for me to get involvedfor the sake of total coverage, of course. The initial response of the fans can be very foretelling of how the season will progress.

The weather was strangely cool that day on the way into the stadium. The typical tailgate style festivities were taking place in the parking lot as herds of fans and their fair-weather friends posing as fans, marched towards the gates. The first sign in sight once you approach the turnstiles was one that read, No outside drinks. No cameras with lenses longer than six inches. Tucking the camera into my side and putting my arm over it, I quickly walked through the checkpoint and into the stadium. With a little over an hour until the first pick of the draft was to be announced, the fans were piling into EverBank Field for $9 beers and $12 barbeque, ready for the show to begin and for the answer to the question that was on every Jaguars fans mind.

The field itself was a maze of lines, filled with men and women, young and old. A DJ in some unknown location on the field was filling the stadium with music as the crowd pulsated with anticipation, slamming as many beers and cocktails as possible before the draft kicked off. After a few laps around the stadium and bumping into several friends, it was time to find a good vantage point.

Approaching the Bud Light Party Zone on the south end of the stadium, it was apparent that this was the place to be. Most of EverBank Stadium was void of people sitting in the bleachers except for this particular portion. Climbing the stairs after a quick transaction with a man selling Bud Lights from a cooler strapped around his neck the ascension to my destination was quickly stopped by a mob of yellow-shirted security guards explaining that this was simply a private function and I was not invited. Trying to explain that I was only in search of a good vantage point for pictures was no use. It was a solid defensive line, which I had no choice but to avoid. They should probably pay these poor sots more. Resorting to standing on their prestigious private railing worked just fine for the pictures needed.

As the time neared I found myself at the fence line of the center stage on the field, huddled up against a barrage of fans, drink in hand and dressed down in Jaguar gear, which put me at ease. The first pick was announced and to no surprise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected Jameis Winston to get the ball rolling. The Tennessee Titans came next and picked the super Samoan from Hawaii, Marcus Mariota, which had to be a huge letdown for all Eagles fans that had hoped the rumors were true and that Chip Kellys newly acquired salary cap space would somehow wrangled in Oregons Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.

Jacksonville was set for the next pick as the crowds anxiety heightened. The giant new monitor on the north end of

the stadium was lit up brightly as Goodell announced that Jacksonvilles pick was in. A collective hush washed over the crowd gathered in the stadium as the commissioner informed the nation that the Jags had selected defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. from the University of Florida. The response seemed to be mixed. There were a lot of cheers, of course, but there seemed to a sense of surprise from the crowd. Granted, the Jaguars needed a defensive end, as Tyson Alualus solo stats have been in decline since 2012 and Chris Clemons isnt getting any younger, but the insider pick was Leonard Williams from the University of Southern California.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 261-pound defensive end from UF is a solid pick for the Jags though. It may have taken some fans by surprise but the kid has obvious talent. In his 2014 season with the Gators he led the defense in tackles with 15. You might remember that this was the UF player who announced via tweet that he would be leaving with Will Muschamp, the former Gator head coach who just recently stepped down. Fowler forwent his eligibility to play ball for UF and declared for the 2015 NFL Draft as a freshman.

Despite his premature departure from the collegiate circle, he has long arms, which will benefit the pass defense and commendable rushing skills that allow him to fire off from either the two- or three-point stance. Hes the same height as Alualu but 34 pounds lighter and seven years younger. It might be a bit of a stretch to compare Fowler with Jevon Kearse in his early Tennessee Titan days, but the two are almost identical in height and weight. Fowler only put up a fraction of the total tackles that Kearse did at UF but both were picked up in the first round, Kearse at 16 and Fowler at 3.

Unfortunately for the Jaguars, Fowler went down clutching his knee in the first day of spring camp on Friday, May 8. After inspection it was later reported that he had torn his ACL and will be out for the entire 2015 season.

Rounds Two & Three Friday, May 1, 2015Round two started an hour earlier at 6 p.m. and reduced the

amount of time per pick to seven minutes, as opposed to ten. The New York Giants took first pick of the second round from the Tennessee Titans. The Giants got the ball rolling with the All-American safety from Alabama, Landon Collins. Next came Tampa Bay with the 34th overall pick and then Oakland at 35. The Raiders selected defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. from Florida State, who for my money, was the best defensive end that declared for the draft and will most likely have the longest lasting impact in the NFL.

Jacksonvilles second pick came at approximately 6:30 p.m. The Jaguars were definitely in need of both a franchise running back and wide receiver, now that Justin Blackmon appears to be doomed to the fate of his own devices. The majority of speculations for the first round were for them to select top wide receiver prospect Amari Cooper and sure enough the Raiders sucked him up right after Jacksonville took Fowler. The first round consisted of six wide receiver picks and just two running backs, Todd Gurley from Georgia being one of them.

This being the case, there were a handful of good running backs with franchise potential left. Jacksonville selected the junior running back from Alabama, T. J. Yeldon.

Remember, Yeldon is the kid, who as a freshman, ran alongside Eddie Lacy in 2012, when Alabama took home the


BCS National Championship title. He accrued 1,108 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns. In 2013, after Lacy declared for the draft, Yeldon became the starter and racked up 1,235 yards and 14 touchdowns. He did sustain several ankle and hamstring snafus during his sophomore year, which somewhat hindered his effectiveness this past season, but the kid is strong. Yeldon has been tested and has proven himself worthy. He can maintain composure under highly pressurized situations and has all of the tools necessary to be a clutch runner. His true potential was not seen at Alabama due to his ongoing recovery from injuries. Long arms coupled with some decent hands can make Yeldon a dangerous offensive asset with Blake Bortles short-range accuracy. Some analysts have questioned him on his ball security, but that is nothing a few good gloves and some better ball coaching cant resolve.

Round three started just as soon as the Patriots made the 64th overall pick of the draft. The third round was once again reduced in time allotted per pick from seven minutes down to five. The Indianapolis Colts took the 65th pick from the Bucs and the Titans took the 66th.

The Jaguars, for the 67th overall pick of 2015 NFL Draft, chose A. J. Cann from South Carolina. Cann completed his senior year in 2014 and was named second-team All-American before registering for the draft. He started all four years of collegiate play as a left guard for the Gamecocks. He was voted team captain in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 313-pound guard will be a good player to shadow the veteran Zane Beadles for the next couple of seasons. While Cann isnt the tallest of guards to play the position, he is strong and has quick feet, which will benefit any pulls or screen plays. He was rarely penalized for holding during his college career and has the instincts of a defender. Cann is a wide-bodied athletic player who can plug a hole in terms of pass protection which is exactly what Jacksonville needs or provide solid down-blocking to give a runner an open hole.

Unfortunately, the guard position is only as strong as the man standing next to them. If the tackles cant find a way to throttle the pass rush in this coming season, we could see a lot more of the same. Then again, maybe the Jaguars just need an offensive anchor, like Tony Boselli in the late 90s. And if that leadership role cant be filled by Bortles, maybe its the two-time South Carolina team captain, Cann, who can step up and play the part. Time will tell.

Rounds Four through Seven Saturday, May 2, 2015These final rounds are always exciting, for the players who

get drafted, of course, and for those who are true fans out there. These are the rounds where players like Tom Brady, Terrell Davis, Richard Dent and Shannon Sharpe are picked up and tucked away under the wing of some sleeping giant until the day they shine.

These rounds kicked off at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, when most people were still nursing hangovers and rethinking life decisions. Rounds four through six were kept at five minutes per pick, with the seventh round and additional compensatory picks being reduced to four minutes apiece.

The New York Jets traded up with the Jaguars in the fourth round, coincidently only moving the Jets up one pick from the 104th to the 103rd. The Jets chose Baylors standout quarterback, Bryce Petty. With the fifth pick in the fourth round and the 104th pick overall, Jacksonville chose James Sample, the Louisville safety from Sacramento, Calif.

Sample declared for the draft after his first and only season with the Louisville Cardinals as a junior. In just 13 games with the Cardinals he racked up 90 tackles and four interceptions. Sample is one of the taller safeties, standing at 6-foot-2-inches and weighing in at 209-pounds. Not much can be shown for his college career due to his lack of playing time at the colleges he attended before coming to Louisville. Although, what little has been shown from his junior year of collegiate play in the ACC, I would say he is comparable to one of the hardest hitting safeties to ever play the game, John Lynch.

Much like Lynch, football was not Samples only focus in his early years. Sample was a standout in football growing up, but he also excelled in track & field. Obviously, he is quick on his feet, as any safety should be, and he shows his value in open-field tackling. He is a headhunter outside of zone defenses and covers the field efficiently from sideline to sideline. Of those 90 tackles he accrued in his junior year, 74 of them were solo takedowns. With some solid defensive coaching, Sample could very well develop into a premier safety for the Jaguars.

Jacksonville, yet to pick up a wide receiver, selected Rashad Greene from Florida State in the fifth round. This very well could be the biggest sleeper and most explosive pick for the Jaguars in this draft.

Greene played all four years of college ball with the Seminoles. As a senior in 2014 he set the school record for most single-


season receptions with 99, simultaneously setting the record for most career-receptions (270) and receiving yards (3,830), surpassing Ron Sellers who had previously held that record since 1968.

The one draw back to Greene is he is somewhat of a smaller wide out, a Megatron by no means and around 60-pounds lighter than Kelvin Benjamin, his fellow receiver from the 2014 BCS Championship team. Breaking tackles could be an issue, but the kid is quick and about as resilient as they come.

Despite his small stature, in 2013 he led the Seminoles with 76 receptions for 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns, which includes the nine receptions for 147 yards he made during the championship game. The kid is a stud; there is no way around it.

For the 180th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft, the Jaguars pulled in a defensive tackle in the form of Michael Bennett, who was a part of the 2015 CFP National Championship team, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Bennett has started all 28 games in the past two seasons with the Buckeyes. He is known for his explosive first steps after the snap and his strong hands that can shed linemen easily. Bennett was projected to go in the second or third round due to his strength and overall ability to disrupt plays. His strength makes him a worthy adversary in the case of a double team, but his lower half lacks some size. He could find trouble with bigger guards he is matched up against.

Jacksonvilles pen of defensive tackles lacks youthfulness, with this being the seventh football season for almost the entire squad except for Abry Jones. If Bennett can build up some more leg strength he could end up being a mainstay for this Jacksonville defense, bringing a spark and some much needed lifeblood to an aging defensive line.

The seventh and final round of the draft proved to be the definition of ending on a high note for Jacksonville. With the third pick in the seventh round the Jaguars chose wide receiver Neal Sterling from Monmouth University as the 220th overall pick.

To sum up Sterling in a word it would be, big. Standing at 6-foot-4-inches and pushing 240-pounds, Sterling is one of those utility players that could play either tight end or wide out, hell maybe even line backer. He has a height advantage on almost any cornerback that would be covering him and a strength advantage over any safeties. In 2014 season he racked

up 55 receptions worth 905 yards and 6 touchdowns.Its been said that Sterling would be a good replacement

for the 30-year-old Marcedes Lewis and maybe there is some truth to that, but this is the age of big receivers. The league has changed quite a bit over the past two decades and no one position, except for maybe quarterback, is archetype. At this point, Sterling could go either way. If Jacksonville wants to make him a tight end, they need to throw another 20-pounds on the kid and start working on his blocking skills. Putting him at the position he has been playing and is familiar with looks like the best course of action though. The duo of Sterling and Greene could be an au fait parallel to the offensive team that took the Seminoles to the big show in 2013.

Last but not least, Jacksonville brandished a second seventh round pick at 229th overall. The Jaguars picked up Notre Dames only player to be selected, tight end Ben Koyack.

As mentioned before, Lewis is getting long in the tooth and for most Jacksonville fans its probably sad to see, but it is the nature of the game. With one year left on his contract, Lewis being let go looks like a realistic situation. Good news for the Jags, they recently picked up veteran Julius Thomas, who will provide some stability and leadership for the newcomers if Clay Harbor and Lewis contracts are not renewed.

So what about Koyack, you say? He will have to earn his spot on the team during spring training. There are at least two other players gunning for the job and its going to come down to which player has better hands and run blocking ability. Unfortunately, Koyack only spent one season as a full-time starter, which equates to a lack of experience. Its obvious the kid has potential and raw talent though. Its just a matter of whether or not that potential can carry over from his collegiate days. Late round draft picks are almost always a shot in the dark but thats what spring training is for.

Overall, the Jaguars made some solid selections in this draft that will hopefully pay off in due time. There are several players assuming they make it through spring training without any significant injuries that could even be starters come September. Nothing is for certain, but I can guarantee the Jags will win at least five games this season. Its springtime and there is change in the air.

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