Jaguars are needy as draft approaches

By Darrell Laurant  |   Wednesday, April 19, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Jacksonville Jaguars
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One could make a strong case for the Jacksonville Jaguars as the most surprising team in the NFL last season. Before being KO'd by New England as an AFC wild card, the Jaguars rang up a 12-4 record despite a broken breakaway threat (Fred Taylor) and the often-inconsistent play of QB Byron Leftwich.

In retrospect, the Jags did it not with mirrors, but with defense. That, however, was last year -- and with the 2006 draft just over the horizon, the team has multiple needs it must fill to avoid slipping backwards.

There is Taylor, for instance, who was limited to 11 games last season by a nagging ankle injury. The year before that, it was knee surgery. The University of Florida product is now 30 years old, and didn't endear himself to coach Jack Del Rio by opting out of "voluntary" offseason workouts.

Jacksonville couldn't find another feature back during the free agent fishing season, though, and backup Greg Jones is more of a short yardage workhorse (3.8 yards per carry in 2005) than a Taylor-style speedster. So drafting a top college ball-carrier to prep for a year in what might be Taylor's final Jaguar season would seem an attractive possibility.

Except that this isn't a good year for running backs. DeAngelo Williams will most certainly be gone before Jacksonville picks at No. 28, and Laurence Maroney of Minnesota should be off the board as well.

LenDale White, the Rose Bowl star whose stock has dropped like a 235-pound rock since the NFL combine, might still be around, however. He's big and fast (4.5), but a hamstring injury and a noticeable weight gain have made a lot of teams wary recently.

The Jaguars might be better off, then, to wait and dip into the pool of good-but-not-great backs after the Big Three -- Joseph Addai of LSU, Brian Calhoun of Wisconsin, Leon Washington of Florida State and Taurean Henderson of Texas Tech (the all-time leading NCAA receiver among backs). Any of those could blossom into a star, and at considerably less expense.

Tight end, where incumbent Kyle Brady provided little offense (18 catches for 157 yards and a touchdown) last season, is a similar situation. The Jaguars would love to add Vernon Davis of Maryland, but they'd have to trade way up to get him. Either Georgia's Leonard Pope (6-7, 255, 4.62 combine time) or Marcedes Lewis of UCLA (a former Division I basketball prospect who goes 6-6, 254) could fall to No. 28, but as with running backs, a group of serviceable players (Dominique Byrd of Southern Cal, Colorado's Joe Klopfenstein, Notre Dame's Anthony Fasano) will be available in the later rounds.

The offensive line is a concern, despite the offseason signings of Mike Williams and Stockar McDougle. Again, though, the top three college O-linemen -- D'Brickashaw Ferguson of Virginia, Winston Justice of Southern Cal and Marcus McNeill of Auburn -- are all projected to be taken relatively early. USC's Taitusi "Deuce" Lutui is a potential force at guard, and available tackles would include Oklahoma's Chris Chester, Miami's Eric Winston, Jonathan Scott of Texas, and Daryn Colledge of Boise State.

Perhaps Jacksonville's best chance at snagging a highly-regarded college prospect is at linebacker, a position that became alarmingly-thin with the free agent departure of Akin Ayodele, Jamie Winborn and Tracy White (White and Winborn didn't play much, but Ayodele was the third-leading tackler). Forget about A.J. Hawk. Ernie Sims of Florida State, Chad Greenway of Iowa or DeMeco Ryans of Alabama all come highly recommended. Thomas Howard of Texas El Paso is also a tempting longshot -- 6-3, 239 pounds and 4.42 in the 40.
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