I seem to be in the minority but I think that 32-year old David Garrard is a pretty good QB.  He is nowhere near elite but he’s a guy you can win with.  Garrard played in all 16 games last season for the Jaguars and he completed 314 of 516 passes (60.9%) for 3,597 yards with 15 TD passes and 10 INTs (83.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 77 times for 323 yards (4.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs last year.  Garrard has now played in 72 games in his career with the Jaguars and he has completed 1,170 of 1,915 passes (61.1%) for 13,269 yards with 66 TD passes and 39 INTs (84.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 314 times for 1,467 yards (4.7 ypc) with 12 TD runs in his career.  Garrard is 31-31 in the regular season as the starting QB of the Jaguars.

28-year old Luke McCown will be the Jags’ #2 QB again in 2010.  McCown played in 3 games for the Jaguars last season and he completed 1 of 3 passes (33.3%) for 2 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (42.4 QB Rating).  He has now played in 15 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 143 of 241 passes (59.3%) for 1,619 yards with 9 TD passes and 10 INTs (74.7 QB Rating).  McCown has also carried the football 21 times for 157 yards (7.5 ypc) in his NFL career.  I think he would do a decent job if forced into duty due to a Garrard injury.  He has a career record of 1-6 (14.3%) as a starting QB but in his defense those starts came for the Bucs & Browns.

Undrafted Trevor Harris out of Edinboro will be the #3 QB for the Jags this season and if they need him to take any snaps they are likely already in deep water.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE JAGUARS QBs in 2010:  B-

The Jaguars have acquired 28-year old OG Justin Smiley from the Dolphins for a 7th round pick.  He is 6’3″, 310 pounds and he has a lot of experience so he will battle for a starting job in 2010.  Smiley played in 15 games (12 starts) for the Dolphins last season and he has played in 83 games (73 starts) in his six years in the NFL.  This was a good trade for the Jaguars as they get Smiley for pennies on a dollar.

The Jaguars have signed 28-year old linebacker Teddy Lehman.  Lehman last played during the 2008 season with the Buffalo Bills.  He has played in 45 games in his NFL career in which he has 150 tackles, he had defensed 5 passes, has 1 sack, forced 2 fumbles and he has 2 interceptions.  Lehman is a solid player so the Jaguars are better today than they were yesterday with him aboard.

The Jaguars have selected CB/PR/KR Scotty McGee out of James Madison with the 203rd overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  McGee is not much of a defensive player so the Jags picked him specifically for his special teams ability.  He only had 3 tackles last season for James Madison.  McGee also returned 19 punts for 97 yards (5.1 avg) and 21 kickoffs for 640 yards (30.5 avg) last season.  McGee finished up with only 16 tackles and 10 passes defensed in his four years at James Madison.  He also has returned 31 punts for 275 yards (8.9 avg) and 42 kickoffs for 1,299 yards (30.9 avg) at James Madison.  The Jaguars are taking somewhat of a risk with this pick because Madison is really only a special teams player and little more.

UPDATE:  (9/23/2010) – The Jaguars have placed Scotty McGee on the Injured Reserve List with a broken right scapula and nerve damage that he suffered in the last pre-season game.

The Jaguars went bargain shopping for a backup running back and they might have found one in Deji Karim.  Karim was picked by the Jags with the 180th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft out of Southern Illinois.  Karim is on the small side at 5’8″, 197 pounds but he’s fast running a 4.47 40.  Karim’s college numbers jump off the page.  He played in 13 games (all starts) at Southern Illinois last season and he carried the ball 240 times for 1,694 yards (7.1 ypc) with 18 TD runs.  He also caught 17 passes for 212 yards (12.5 avg) with 1 TD grab last season.  Karim played in 48 games (32 starts) at Southern Illinois & Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in which he carried the ball 644 times for 3,971 yards (6.2 ypc) with 48 TD runs and he also caught 48 passes for 544 yards (11.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Karim will also help out the Jaguars on special teams as he is a good kick returner.

The Jaguars have selected DE Austen Lane out of Murray State with the 153rd overall pick of the NFL Draft (5th round).  Lane is 6’5″, 276 pounds and he runs a 4.88 40 so he is a good athlete.  His game is speed though as he is not too tough against the run despite having nice size.  Lane played in 11 games for Murray State last season and he had 64 tackles, 19.5 tackles for a loss and he had 11 sacks.  In his four years at Murray State, Lane played in 43 games in which he had 209 tackles, 53.5 tackles for a loss and he had 29 sacks.  This is a big step up in competition for Lane so it will be interesting to see if he can handle it.

The Jaguars have selected OLB Larry Hart out of Central Michigan with the 143th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Hart is 6’0″, 239 and he’s really fast running a 4.56 40.  Hart’s game is getting into the opposing backfield and making plays.  He is a solid pass rusher but he will need to toughen up against the run some.  Hart played in 12 games (all starts) at C.Michigan last season and he had 30 tackles, 10.5 tackles for a loss, 9.5 sacks and he broke up one pass.  In his two years at Central Michigan, Hart played in 24 games (all starts) in which he had 73 tackles, 31.5 tackles for a loss, 21.5 sacks and he broke up 6 passes.  This was a solid pick for the Jaguars who got good value in finding Hart in the 5th round.

The Jaguars have lost 26-year old DE/OLB Bryan Smith for the season.  He tore his ACL over the weekend at Jaguars’ mini-camp.  Smith played in 6 games as a rookie last season for the Jags and he had 6 tackles including 2 tackles for a loss.  This will hurt Smith more than the Jaguars as he was going to get a chance for more playing time in 2010.

UPDATE: (5/10/2010) – Smith has been officially placed on the Injured Reserve List ending his 2010 season before it begins.