Quentin Groves is a freak of nature because of his speed.  He is 6′3″, 249 pounds and he can run a 4.43 40!  Groves played in 49 games (22 starts) for Auburn and he made 119 tackles, 44 tackles for a loss, had 26 sacks, batted down 1 pass and he also forced 8 fumbles.  Despite being a physical specimen Groves tends to be soft against the run and Coach Del Rio will need to motivate him regularly.  Still, this was a solid pick for Jacksonville.

The Jaguars made a big move in the first round to pick DE Derrick Harvey out of Florida.  Harvey is 6′4″, 260 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40 which shows what kind of athlete he is.  Harvey played in 36 games (18 starts) at Florida and he made 91 tackles, 31 tackles for a loss, had 20.5 sacks, batted down 6 passes, forced 2 fumbles and recovered 3 fumbles.  Harvey should be a starter soon for the Jaguars and he might also convert to OLB later in his career because of his athletic ability.

The Jacksonville Jaguars added to players that will be part of the foundation for the defense for a long, long time in the first two rounds of last April’s NFL Draft.  First round pick, Reggie Nelson was a playmaker as a rookie last season.  The free safety played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Jaguars last season and he made 62 tackles, had 1 sack, forced a fumble, defensed 11 passes and had 5 interceptions.  The sky is the limit for Nelson.  Outside linebacker Justin Durant was the 2nd round pick of the Jaguars last April and he was quite a find.  Durant played in 13 games (8 starts) for the Jaguars last season and he made 49 tackles, had 1 sack, defensed 2 passes and picked one off.  He will be a starter for a long time for the Jaguars.  WR Mike Walker was the 3rd round pick of the Jags and he was a waste last season.  He was on the Injured Reserve list all season long due to a bum knee he had in college.  Punter Adam Podlesh was the first of two 4th round picks for the Jaguars last season.  He played in all 16 games as a rookie last season and he punted the ball 54 times for a gross average of 41.6 yards per punt.  His net average was a respectable 36.9 yards.  Only 14 of Podlesh’s punts landed inside the opposing 20-yard line (25.9%) and that will need to improve.  He also carried the ball 2 times for a loss of 2 yards and that is a very bad thing for a punter to have to do.  The Jags hope that he will improve in the near future.  The Jags other 4th round pick last season was DE Brian Smith who didn’t play in a game for them before he was cut loose.  Offensive guard Uche Nwaneri was the first of three 5th round picks for the Jags last season.  He played in 9 games (1 start) and he should be a solid reserve for the Jags.  Free safety Josh Gattis was the 2nd of the Jags’ 5th round picks last season but he was released before ever getting into a game.  The last of the 5th round picks was DT Derek Landri who saved all of his best plays for the post-season, especially in the victory over the Steelers.  Landri played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Jags last season and he made 11 tackles.  Look for his role to expand this season.  WR John Broussard was the first of three 7th round picks made by the Jags.  He played in 8 games (0 starts) last season and he caught 4 passes for 126 yards (31.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also returned 1 kickoff for 20 yards.  Linebacker Chad Nkang switched to safety in the pros and he played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Jags last season and he made 17 tackles.  He was a very nice find in the 7th round for the Jags.  The last pick of the draft for the Jags was OT Andrew Carnahan and he was cut without getting into a game.

GRADE FOR THE 2007 SEASON:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B