What If...2003 NFL Draft: Jaguars Rush to Podium for Terrell Suggs

(Photo by Tom Pidgeon/Getty Images)

3.  Jacksonville Doesn't Move Up Aggressively in the 2008 NFL Draft

Outside of the direct impact on Jacksonville from Leftwich's absence and Suggs' presence, a different name on the Jaguars' 2003 draft card would have had a ripple effect in places for the league as a whole.

The Jaguars' trades up for Harvey and Groves were eye-opening moves—particularly their first, third, and fourth-round picks for the pick used to take Harvey.  With Suggs in Jacksonville, those moves don't happen.

Staying put at the 26th pick, the Jaguars could have considered Arizona cornerback Antoine Cason to shore up their secondary opposite Rashean Mathis, Clemson defensive end Phillip Merling as a strong side end to develop behind Paul Spicer, or Houston receiver Donnie Avery to add speed to their passing game. 

Whichever route they went, Jacksonville would have been free to take the best player available instead of having to address a specific need.

Without the Jaguars as his suitors, Harvey still wouldn't have fallen much further in the draft.  Despite the popular opinion that Jacksonville had reached for the former Florida Gator past his draft value, the Cincinnati Bengals had (and still have) a significant need at defensive end.

The Bengals brought in free agent Antwan Odom from Tennessee to replace departed end Justin Smith, but Odom managed just three sacks—which tied for the team lead on a defense that managed just 17 sacks total.  With the ninth pick in the draft, they could have added the end with the quickest first step in last year's draft to their pass rush.

4.  Byron Leftwich Completes the Swap and Becomes a Baltimore Raven

Even though one of the premises of this article is that both the Jaguars and Ravens were chasing Suggs at the seventh pick, Baltimore would still have settled for Leftwich had he fallen to them.

The Ravens ended up using their second first-round pick (the 19th overall) on California quarterback Kyle Boller, who hadn't been their first choice.  At that pick, they would have just missed out on Wake Forest defensive end Calvin Pace, who was considered a similar talent to Suggs but hasn't enjoyed the same level of success.

Whether because of Boller's poor decision-making or Leftwich's slow release and limited mobility, the Ravens would have come out of the 2003 draft with a cannon-armed first round quarterback destined to lose his job twice: first, to veteran free agent Steve McNair, then to 2008 rookie Joe Flacco.  With the Jaguars snapping up Suggs, they wouldn't even have the consolation prize of an ace pass rusher.

5.  In the Long Run, Things Would Probably Shake Out About the Same

Surprisingly little would be sure to have change if the Jaguars had written "Terrell Suggs" on that draft card.  Maybe they would've won an AFC South title or two, or even a Super Bowl.  Maybe not. 

The games that such success would've hinged on are still too close to call.  Maybe they'd have Ben Roethlisberger shrugging off sacks and playing efficient football instead of David Garrard.  Either would function similarly within the Jaguars' run-first offense.

Maybe they'd still be chugging along under "Shack" Harris, forestalling their present roster renovation, leaning heavily on an aging defense and a depth-starved offensive line and reaching on receivers.

With a decent pass rush led by Suggs, Jacksonville's weaknesses in the defensive secondary might not have been exposed over the past two seasons.  Their injury-plagued offense could have leaned on a stout-but-fading defense for at least another year of mediocrity, delaying the collapse that happened in 2008.

Maybe, in that light, it's best that the Jaguars went after Leftwich and got him.

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