2008 NFL Mock Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars

Previous Five Picks

21) Washington Redskins: Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida

22) Dallas Cowboys: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, CB, Tennessee St.

23) Pittsburgh Steelers: Branden Albert, OG, Virginia

24) Tennessee Titans: Kentwan Balmer, DT, North Carolina

25) Seattle Seahawks: Chris Williams, OT, Vanderbilt

Click here to see the entire Mock Draft. 

The Longest Mock Draft in NFL History Continues...

A couple of quick notes before I get to the Jags' selection.

1) I didn’t realize that Tom Ashworth was a free agent that probably wasn’t going to return to Seattle next season.  This greatly effects my “They’re one injury away from Tom Ashworth” argument. 

So if you read my Seattle Seahawks pick again, please replace all occurrences of Tom Ashworth's name with Steve Vallos.

Unless, of course, he’s no longer on the team either (damn you, NFL.com!).

2) I still think the Seahawks should go offensive line with their first round draft pick.  I hate first round TEs, unless they’re so dominant that their translation to the NFL is obvious even to nitwits such as myself, and Joe Theisman.

3) Too much changes over a two month period to do a mock draft series like this without some weird things happening to your draft board.  For example, Rashard Mendenhall was originally my pick for Seattle when I threw together my picks in February.  Then they signed Jones and Mendenhall shot way up everyone’s draft board. 

Now I’m almost done with the first round and haven’t found a spot for him yet. 

In this draft, he’s a victim of his movement.  When I was writing the top-15 picks, he wasn’t a top-15 pick.  Now that I’m in the late 20s, he’s a top-15 pick.  So what do I do? 

Anyway, not to make excuses, but if you’re wondering why my draft board seems a little odd at times, that’s the reason. 

Mock Draft Version 2, due out sometime in April, will address all of these issues.

Pick No. 26:  Jacksonville Jaguars

I was not a Jaguar believer in 2007.  Mostly because I was not a David Garrard believer.  But in a losing effort to the Patriots in the playoffs, he won me over.

Up until the Steelers game the previous week, Garrard hadn’t done anything to lead me to believe he was any more than a decent stopgap between now and their next starting quarterback. 

He struck me as a guy who didn’t make mistakes, managed the game OK, and relied on his running game.  Sorry ESPN, but I’m just not wasting any time fawning over a guy like that.

Plus, as I mentioned back in December, his uncanny resemblance to Bubba from Forrest Gump really bothers me.

But he took an unexpected (to me, anyway) leap in the playoffs. 

He kept a team that had no business keeping up with the New England Patriots in the game far longer than most other quarterbacks would have.  He torched the Patriots’ secondary. 

Remember, this Patriots defense (while admittedly old) was pretty good.  He made them look silly a few times.  That “was he, or was he not down already” touchdown pass in the first quarter was a thing of beauty.  Most guys can’t make that play. 

He didn’t have a running game.  He wasn’t managing the game.  He was leading his team. 

His rise to NFL elite in the playoffs bodes well for his team this season.  They are now officially one of the AFC powerhouse teams.  They have as good a shot as anyone next season.

I’m actually excited to watch the Jags in 2008.

What I’m trying to say is, I’m now officially a Jaguar believer.

The Jaguars are a pretty solid team, which makes their mock draft selection that much tougher.

The thing that killed them in the Patriots game was a lack of an effective pass rush and an inability to cover the short passing game. 

When looking at the guys left on my board, there’s one that jumps out as a guy who can help in at least one of those areas.

The Pick: Quentin Groves, OLB/DE, Auburn

Quentin Groves can be a speed rushing defensive end or an outside linebacker.  I’m confident he can handle both in the NFL.

His speed off the edge will help with that pass rush. 

He’s versatile in that he can play outside linebacker and defensive end.

He moved up people’s draft boards because he’s a classic workout warrior.  His 4.57 40-yard dash is lightning fast for a defensive end, and pretty darn fast for a linebacker as well.

For a team that is ready to compete for the AFC championship even before they make their first draft pick, a talent like Quentin Groves would be like giving away money to the already rich.

Or something like that.

I’m SeanMC.

SeanMC is a Senior Writer at Bleacher Report. His archive can be found here. You can find everything he writes, including articles for other publications, here.