Justin Blackmon: Was Blackmon the Right Selection for the Jaguars?

The Jacksonville Jaguars moved up from the No. 7 spot to the No. 5 spot and took Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon.

Despite speculation that the Jaguars was looking to move down in the draft, the Jags surprised everyone and actually moved up. The Jags exchanged spots with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were sitting at No. 5, and also gave them their 101st pick in the draft.

The question remains, though, was this the right selection? With a deep receiver class, was Blackmon worth moving up to grab at the No. 5 position?

That depends on how you see Blackmon. If Blackmon is the game-breaker he was in college, then it was absolutely the right pick.

The Jaguars have had a hole to fill at the receiver position ever since Jimmy Smith retired. They have tried to rectify that somewhat this offseason with the signings of free agents Laurent Robinson and Lee Evans.

If Blackmon is all he is cracked up to be, he will take pressure off of both quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who is young and in need of safety valves at receiver, and running back Maurice Jones-Drew so he does not have to carry the load.

On the other hand, if you believe that Blackmon is a solid No. 2 receiver at best and not a true No. 1, then this is the wrong decision. The Jaguars could have selected a receiver at a later point of the draft, including Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd.

As with all of the picks in the draft, time will only tell whether this was the right decision. But as of right now, Blackmon seems like a no-brainer. The Jags have needed a receiver for way too long, and they needed a guy who was going to either put points on the board or take points off.

The Jags have a similar issue at the defensive end spot and are in need of that as well, but with a solid defense returning, that need is not as urgent as receiver.