Dante Fowler's Season-Ending Injury Latest Blow to Hard-Luck Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars haven't had much luck in the first round of the NFL draft in recent years. Blaine Gabbert. Justin Blackmon. Luke Joeckel.

Bust, bust and sure looks like a bust so far.

Well, it would appear that someone in the Jaguars organization keeps breaking mirrors, because the first day of the team's rookie minicamp brought with it another first-round disaster.

As ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, defensive end Dante Fowler Jr., whom the Jaguars selected with the third overall pick in the 2015 draft, tore his ACL in practice and will miss his entire rookie season:

Offensive tackle Watts Danzler was blocking Fowler on the play in question, and he said afterward that there are no hard feelings between him and the defensive end, per ESPN's Michael DiRocco:

And just like that, his season was over.

Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports tried to find a silver lining in an otherwise very dark cloud:

However, Jaguars general manager David Caldwell summed things up pretty well with a one-word text message to NFL Media's Michael Silver (via Marc Sessler of NFL.com): "Brutal."

Yep, that about covers it.

After all, it was only two days ago that NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah touted Fowler's ability to make a first-year impact a la Khalil Mack of the Oakland Raiders in 2014:

"

Dante Fowler Jr. going to the Jacksonville Jaguars is going to have a lot of opportunities to make plays like Khalil Mack did last year. Mack didn't put up big sack numbers but he dominated because he was a complete linebacker. I think we see the same thing from Dante Fowler Jr.

"

Those sentiments were echoed by the NFL Network's Mike Mayock, who labeled Fowler the top edge-rusher in this year's draft class.

"Fowler is the most gifted edge-rusher in this draft class," Mayock wrote. "He's not just a 228-pound edge guy, he's 261 pounds. He has a freaky first step, and he also sets the physical edge against the run game."

Yeah, so much for all that.

It's a devastating blow to a Jaguars pass rush that improved by leaps and bounds in 2014. After finishing dead last in the NFL in sacks in both 2012 and 2013, the Jaguars posted 45 sacks last year, good for sixth in the league.

Fowler was going to be the last piece of the puzzle. The rangy, wildly athletic young defender was perfectly suited for the "Leo" weak-side end role in head coach Gus Bradley's 4-3 Under defense.

Now those plans are shot. Granted, in defensive end Chris Clemons and tackles Sen'Derrick Marks and Jared Odrick, the Jaguars have some talent up front. Defensive ends Andre Branch and Ryan Davis and rookie tackle Michael Bennett offer a modicum of depth.

But Clemons is well the wrong side of 30. Marks is rehabbing an ACL tear. Odrick's more of a run-stuffer than a pass-rusher. Branch is yet another high draft pick by the Jaguars who hasn't panned out.

Fowler was going be the crown jewel, the piece that really put a rising Jacksonville defense over the top.

Instead, that defense, just like the Jacksonville franchise has for so many years, is left spinning its wheels.

Seriously. They need to find out who keeps breaking all those mirrors.

Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter at @IDPSharks.