Jacksonville Jaguars 2012 NFL Draft: Why Did Team Draft P Bryan Anger?

The face-palm moment.

Jacksonville Jaguars fans have had quite a few of those during the last few seasons, and another occurred April 28.

Jaguars fans sat in front of their televisions and patiently awaited the 70th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft—the Jaguars' third selection.

They felt good, felt hope, had optimism that the franchise may finally be turning the corner, after years of bad selections in the draft when they took wide receiver Justin Blackmon (the most glaring need on the team) and defensive end Andre Branch (the second-most glaring need on the team).

That optimism, that hope, soon turned into a face-palm moment as the Jaguars selected a punter with their third selection. Yes, a punter.

The Jags selected Bryan Anger out of the University of California in the third round with the 70th overall pick, leaving a lot of Jaguars fans, and football fans in general scratching their heads.

Taking him with the 70th overall pick made him the highest selected punter since 1995 when Todd Sauerbrun was taken by the Chicago Bears with the 54th overall pick.

There's nothing that can be done about it now. Once Anger signs on the dotted line, he will officially be a member of the 2012 Jacksonville Jaguars, no matter what fans feel about it.

Enough with bemoaning the selection, though. Let's get down to the brass tax of things. Why the Jaguars selected Anger and what will he bring to the table in 2012.

The Jaguars selected Anger because they believe that they're going to have to win a lot of games by winning the field position battle. Whether or not that shows confidence in quarterback Blaine Gabbert and the offense, that's another story, but it is a battle teams should want to win.

It worked out for the San Francisco 49ers last year as Andy Lee changed the complexion of games with his punting.

Is that the right message to send to the rest of the league? Not so sure, but this is more than likely the mind frame of the Jags' front office and coaching staff. Quite frankly, it's probably the only reason to take a punter in the draft at all, or place value on it in general.

The Jaguars were not very good overall last season, finishing 5-11, but one area they severely struggled in, whether people watching the games even noticed or not, was punting.

Jags punter Nick Harris did not have a good season in 2011. Harris finished the season ranked 20th in net yards, 27th in net average, and only had 13 of his punts stop inside the 20-yard line, good enough for only 29th in the league.

Whether people care about that or not, it's not going to help you win games when the opposing team is starting with a short field, putting your defense in a bind.

Enter Anger.

He averaged at least 40 yards per punt every season when he was a Golden Bear. He was named first-team All-Pac 12 three seasons in a row, only the second player in Cal history to do so, and earned the College Football Performance Awards' Elite Punter Trophy.

Anger was already on the radar of some pro scouts. He put himself on the map with a big star after he averaged 60 yards per punt in the East-West Shrine Game.

If his success as a punter continues into his NFL career, then the Jaguars would have solved a problem that was a thorn in their side in 2011.

Was it worth a third-round pick? Of course not. Ask the 1995 Bears. But it does make some sense for the Jaguars.

It is an attempt to sure up an area of the game that, in some situations, may become vital.

But, knowing the unpredictable nature of the NFL, if Anger gets cut during training camp, or if he makes the team and is not up to snuff, Jaguars fans will be left sitting there once again, with nothing left to do, but have yet another face-palm moment.