Grading the Last 10 First-Round Draft Picks by the Jacksonville Jaguars

In their short history, the Jacksonville Jaguars have had quite the interesting draft history.

The franchise started out with some great ones: Tony Boselli (the franchise's first-ever draft pick), Kevin Hardy and Fred Taylor.

But they have recently had some head-scratching ones for the most part. The last 10 years in particular is where we will focus and grade them based on what the player contributed to the franchise and what the other options were for the team during that particular draft.

The 2002 season was the last for now-New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, who was replaced in 2003 by former coach Jack Del Rio.

As you will see, there were some bright spots and some big, big misses during the last 10 years.

2002: John Henderson, Defensive Tackle

B

John Henderson was the last first-round selection of Tom Coughlin as Jaguars head coach.

The Jags took him ninth overall out of Tennessee.

Henderson flourished in Jacksonville, recording at least 50 tackles each of his first five season there. He recorded 75 and then 70 in 2004 and 2005, the latter being a season where the Jaguars made its first appearance in the playoffs since 1999.

Henderson was one half of what was probably the best defensive tackle tandem in the NFL alongside Marcus Stroud, the Jags' first-round selection in 2001.

Henderson was a two-time Pro Bowler, but his production came to screeching halt after the 2006 season. For the next three seasons in Jacksonville, Henderson did not record more than 50 tackles and had a combined seven sacks.

If Henderson was still productive on the Jaguars, he would have gotten an A, but since the team cut him loose after only a handful of season, it bumped him down to a B. It doesn't take away just how dominant he was during his short prime in Jacksonville.

2003: Byron Leftwich, Quarterback

F

The only thing that could have saved Byron Leftwich from receiving an F was getting the Jaguars to the 2005 playoffs, but he only started 11 games that season. He started the playoff game and completed 18 of 31 passes for 179 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception and was sacked four times.

Leftwich was the seventh overall pick in 2003 and was brought in to be the heir-apparent to Mark Brunell and eventually a franchise quarterback.

Leftwich shot up draft boards after gutting through a game at Marshall with a broken leg. What people forgot was that he had the slowest wind-up in the history of football.

His slow wind-up made for a number of sack/fumbles.

During his four seasons in Jacksonville, Leftwich completed more than 60 percent of his passes once, never threw for more than 3,000 yards and never threw 20 touchdowns.

What got the Jags through most seasons was a strong running game and a very good defense.

Leftwich not living up to the expectations set the franchise back a couple of years, to say the least. He was cut before the 2007 season.

2004: Reggie Williams, Wide Receiver

F

Taking Reggie Williams made all the sense in the world in 2004.

The year before, the Jags took what they thought was their franchise quarterback in Byron Leftwich, and they turned around the next year to give him a franchise receiver to throw to for years to come.

It didn't quite turn out that way.

To say Williams had an uneventful career with the Jaguars would be putting it lightly. The Jaguars took him with the ninth overall pick. He was the third receiver off the board behind Larry Fitzgerald and Roy Williams. He was thought to be that good.

Fitzgerald has turned out to be one of the best players in football, Roy Williams is not great, but has managed to stay in the league and be somewhat productive. Reggie Williams was not even close to that.

Reggie Williams had only one season where he caught more than 50 passes. Granted, from 2006 on, he played in a very run-heavy offense. He did manage to catch 10 touchdowns in 2007. Besides that, he was essentially invisible.

He followed up that 2007 campaign with a 37-catch, 364-yard, three-touchdown performance in the 2008 season, his last in Jacksonville.

Williams looked as if he had all the physical tools, but he simply did not produce in Jacksonville. Since being cut from the Jags after the 2008 season, he has not been in the league.

2005: Matt Jones, Wide Receiver

F

The Jaguars were taking a risk by selecting a college quarterback-turned-receiver with the No. 21 pick in 2005 draft. At the time, however, it seemed worth it.

Matt Jones was not the prettiest quarterback at Arkansas, but was a heck of an athlete, which was why he made the switch to receiver before entering the pros.

What made people look at Jones was not only his athleticism, but his 6'6" frame to match.

Adding Jones gave the Jags one of the bigger receiving corps at the time in the NFL.

Unfortunately, his production never matched the upside and potential that people thought he had.

His first three seasons in Jacksonville, Jones caught 36, 41 and 24 passes. His most productive season was in 2008, where he caught 65 passes for 761 yards, but it was cut short after being suspended the final three games of the season for violating the league's substance abuse policy, which was only the beginning of his many off-field issues.

What makes matters worse is that six picks later, Roddy White was selected by the Atlanta Falcons. I believe the Falcons easily made the better choice.

Jones was another huge miss for the Jaguars, despite the team being rather competitive during this stretch of bad picks, including making the playoffs in 2005.

2006: Marcedes Lewis, Tight End

C+

Surprisingly, Maurice Jones-Drew was not the Jaguars' first-round pick in 2006; it was Marcedes Lewis, who was also from UCLA.

The Jaguars took Lewis with 28th overall pick that season; they seemed to be attempting to build an offensive juggernaut with their recent picks: quarterback, wide receiver, wide receiver, tight end and running back (Jones-Drew) in the second round of this draft.

Lewis is probably the best receiving threat the Jaguars have right now, but that doesn't mean he is a great player by any means, which is the reason why he gets a C+.

Lewis has shown some production during his short career, including earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2010, but has not performed to the level that warranted him being the second tight end off the board.

The first tight end was Vernon Davis. He is without a doubt among the best in the game, but with Lewis, it is debatable to say the least.

In his six seasons in Jacksonville, Lewis has caught only 17 touchdowns, but 10 came during his Pro Bowl season of 2010.

In 2011, he caught only 39 passes for 460 yards and zero scores. To be fair, he did have a rookie quarterback throwing him the ball, and maybe if Blaine Gabbert progresses, maybe so will Lewis' numbers.

But until then, he gets a C+.

2007: Reggie Nelson, Safety

D

Reggie Nelson seemed to be another one of those no-brainer picks for the Jaguars back in 2007.

He played at Florida and played in the best football conference in the nation in the SEC, where he faced some speed week-in and week-out, including the likes of Dwayne Bowe.

Although there were much worse picks than Nelson, he still gets a D.

Nelson wasn't a terrible player and didn't hurt the franchise as much as maybe Byron Leftwich did, but he was not all that great in coverage, which was part of the reason why he has recorded so many tackles in his career.

But when you look at the defensive players that he was picked ahead of, he is the worst of that bunch.

Nelson was chosen No. 21 overall in 2007, ahead of Jon Beason, Anthony Spencer, Eric Weddle and LaMarr Woodley.

That list includes Pro Bowlers and players who can be argued are the best at their position.

Nelson does not fit either description.

Nelson is still in the league and is still somewhat productive for the Cincinnati Bengals, including grabbing four interceptions last season. But considering that he is the only one of those names that is with his second team should tell you something.

2008: Derrick Harvey, Defensive End

D

Taking Derrick Harvey with the No. 8 overall pick in 2008 made all the sense in the world. The Jaguars severely lacked an edge rusher and Harvey was tabbed to fill that void.

Unfortunately, he did not, and the problem still exists for the Jags.

Harvey only played three seasons in Jacksonville. Some may say they gave up on him too early, but with only eight sacks in three seasons, the decision was certainly warranted.

The Jags tried to double up on defensive ends in 2008 by taking Quentin Groves in the second round. He also did not pan out, with only 2.5 sacks in two seasons.

Both are no longer members of the Jaguars.

2009: Eugene Monroe, Offensive Tackle

B+

After failing in the 2008 draft, the Jaguars found themselves picking in the top 10 once again in 2009 but actually made a good decision in selecting Eugene Monroe out of Virginia.

Monroe was one of those can't-miss prospects coming out of college, so it was next to impossible for the Jaguars to mess this one up.

Monroe has made 42 career starts, is regarded as one of the better tackles in the NFL and has definitely helped the likes of Maurice Jones-Drew.

Monroe's only problem is that he has yet to make a full 16 starts in one season.

He has not missed a considerable amount of time but has missed time during his three seasons.

2010: Tyson Alualu, Defensive Tackle

C

This is more about the Jaguars than it is about Tyson Alualu.

Alualu is a decent defensive tackle. He is productive in the NFL. But the Jaguars drafted him way too high at No. 10 overall in 2010.

At that pick, you'd better be sure that you're getting a dominant defensive tackle who is going control the line of scrimmage, much like a Haloti Ngata.

Where was Ngata taken in 2006? At No. 12 overall, lower than Alualu was in 2010.

The Ravens took Ngata knowing he was going to be among the best in the league; I don't know what the Jags saw in Alualu to warrant taking him that high.

Alualu is a good player, but not good enough to warrant being selected with the 10th overall pick.

This is especially true considering the other options on the board, such as Dez Bryant, who is a bit of knucklehead but a talented one, and Jason Pierre-Paul, who is at a position of dire need for the Jaguars.

Alulu's 78 tackles and six sacks in two seasons did not warrant a 10th-overall selection.

2011: Blaine Gabbert, Quarterback

C

I'll admit, I'm being kind of leniant on Blaine Gabbert because the jury is still out on him.

I am one of those who believe that you can chalk his 2011 performance up to a mishandled quarterback situation by Jack Del Rio, having virtually no weapons to throw to and being that it was his rookie season.

The pick made sense to some extent, despite having David Garrard on the roster.

Now with his team for sure going into camp, he will have a full offseason to work with his new head coach Mike Mularkey, who is a more offensive-minded coach than Del Rio was.

Gabbert was no Andy Dalton. He completed barely over 50 percent of his passes, threw for 2,214 yards and 12 touchdowns, but did throw 11 interceptions. Despite the pedestrian numbers he did show some flashes of greatness, although they were very brief, few and far between.

Gabbert's grade could go way up or way down after this season.