For the Jacksonville Jaguars, it’s been an exciting time in the organization after finishing up with the 2015 NFL Draft, the annual event where all 32 teams select collegiate players in a seven round format. The Jaguars have not made it to the National Football League’s biggest stage, the NFL Playoffs since 2007. Many experts around the NFL expected the General Manager of the Jags, Dave Caldwell, now in third year of rebuilding, to have another well-rounded draft to have the Jaguars try to get out of the NFL’s cellar. Here are you newest Jaguars for the upcoming 2015-2016 season:
Round 1, Pick 3: DE Dante Fowler Jr. (Florida)
Round 2, Pick 36: RB T.J. Yeldon (Alabama)
Round 3, Pick 67: OG A.J. Cann (South Carolina)
Round 4, Pick 104: S James Sample (Louisville)
Round 5, Pick 139: WR Rashad Greene (Florida State)
Round 6, Pick 180: DT Michael Bennett (Ohio State)
Round 7, Pick 220: WR Neal Sterling (Monmouth)
Round 7, Pick 229: TE Ben Koyack (Notre Dame)
What the Jacksonville Jaguars did in the NFL Draft was improve some of the biggest team needs, pressuring the quarterback and giving the Jaguars Quarterback Blake Bortles the weapons he needs to succeed in Jacksonville. The first round pick, Dante Fowler Jr., was only playing college football down the road in Gainesville and has said weeks before the Draft that he really wanted to play for the Jaguars. He gets his wish to wreck havoc on a division that consists of Quarterbacks like Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts and the number two overall pick of the 2015 Draft, Marcus Mariota for the Tennessee Titans, as the Jaguars finished second to last in the NFL in pressures on the Quarterback last year. Other defensive acquisitions would include S James Sample, who is looking to compete for a starting job with other Safeties Josh Evans and Sergio Brown, and DT Michael Bennett, who many experts had projected him to go to the second round of the draft, only to fall all the way to round six and into the Jaguars’ hands.
The Jaguars did not forget about offense, as they ranked last in the NFL in points per game last year, and added many weapons to give to the rookie quarterback. The most important piece of the Jaguars’ puzzle was Alabama Running Back T.J. Yeldon, taken in the second round, is now looked upon to be the bell cow running back, the man who will see the field for all three downs, for a team that has not ran the ball well since Maurice Jones-Drew had his Rushing Title season in 2011-2012. In front of T.J. Yeldon might be a new grazer in the offensive line named A.J. Cann, who played 51 games in South Carolina and finished with second team All-American honors last year and has to compete for a starting role on the team with players like Zane Beadles, Stefen Wisniewski, and Luke Bowanko. The end of the draft for the Jaguars focused on giving Bortles the receivers he needs to avoid the bust label in the NFL, adding three targets in the last three rounds of the draft with Wide Receivers Rashad Greene, who was Jameis Winston’s, the number one overall pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL Draft, top target for the last two seasons, a small school prospect in Neal Sterling, who has shown speed at his 6’4” 236 lbs. frame, and run-blocking Tight End Ben Koyack to give more balance to the team down the line for opportunities in short yardage and goal line chances.
After the 2015 NFL Draft, are the Jacksonville Jaguars primed for playoff contention? Many people still do not believe so, but there has big jumps in the NFL before. And with many people believing that Jaguars Head Coach Gus Bradley is on the hot seat to get fired, if the Jags underperform next season, it may be crucial more than ever to improve the team to the Playoffs, as they have only won seven games in the last two seasons. In the end, it will be intriguing to see how the Jaguars do in regular season play, starting in September, and how the new young talent will adapt to the NFL, as it is for every other 32 teams.
