The Jaguars wanted to address the lack of a pass rush last season and that’s what they thought they did in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft last April and they were vastly disappointed.  1st round pick Derrick Harvey (1st round) was supposed to be an immediate impact player but he certainly did not play like one in 2008.  Harvey played in 16 games (9 starts) for the Jags last season and he made 19 tackles, had 3.5 sacks, defensed 2 passes and had 1 interception.  2nd rounder Quentin Groves (DE) also came to the Jags with high expectations but also failed.  He played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Jaguars last season and he made 13 tackles, had 2.5 sacks, forced 1 fumble and he defensed 1 pass.  5th round pick (OLB) Thomas Williams also didn’t show much as a rookie last season.  Williams played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Jags last season and he made 1 tackle and forced 1 fumble.  CB Trae Williams (5th round) was released and signed by the Eagles.  7th round pick (RB) Chauncey Washington played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Jaguars and he carried the ball 4 times for 9 yards (2.3 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 9 yards.  He also made 1 tackle.

GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  D-

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-

The Jaguars have signed 24-year old DT Tony McDaniel to the Dolphins for a 7th round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.  McDaniel played in 10 games for the Jaguars last season and he made 16 tackles, defensed 2 passes and had 1/2 a sack.  McDaniel played 3 seasons for the Jaguars covering 25 games in which he made 37 tackles, defensed 4 passes and he had 1.5 sacks.  McDaniel doesn’t have much of an upside so it was a good move to get a 7th round pick for him.

The Jaguars have released 25-year old WR Matt Jones after his latest problem with the police.  He played in 12 games for the Jaguars last season and he caught 65 passes for 761 yards (11.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Jones played in 54 games in his 4 years with the Jaguars and he caught 166 passes for 2,153 yards (13.0 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  He also has carried the football 14 times for 36 yards (2.6 ypc).  It was bad timing for Matt Jones to get arrested again as it came on the heels of his best NFL season to date. 

The Jaguars have signed 34-year old Tra Thomas to a 3-year contract.  The 6′7″, 335 pound Thomas will take over as the starting left tackle for the Jaguars this season and that should be a improvement over Khalif Barnes.  Thomas played in 16 games (all starts) for the Eagles last season.  Thomas is very dependable and good as he has played in 166 games (165 starts) in his 11-year NFL career.  This was a great move for the Jaguars.