The Jaguars draft class of 2011 was disappointing this year, but, they still have a nice upside….so it’s way to early to consider giving up on this bunch.  Here is how the rookies played in 2011:

The Jaguars traded up to pick 22-year old QB Blaine Gabbert in the first round.  The Jaguars threw him right into the fire after Luke McCown got off to a slow start.  Gabbert played in 15 games for the Jaguars last year and he completed 210 of 413 passes  (50.8%) for 2,214 yards with 12 TD passes and 11 INTs (65.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 48 times for 98 yards (2.0 ypc) last year.  The Jaguars hope that new head coach Mike Mularkey will be able to coach up Gabbert, who is the Jaguars’ QB of the present and future.

22-year old OG William Rackley was picked in the second round of the NFL Draft.  Rackley played in 15 games (14 starts) for the Jaguars last year.  He looks like he will be a fixture on the O-Line for the Jaguars for a long, long time.

24-year old WR Cecil Shorts was a 4th round pick last April.  Shorts was supposed to inject some speed into the Jags’ WRing corp, but he didn’t.  Shorts played in 10 games for the Jaguars last year and he caught 2 passes for 30 yards (15.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Shorts also returned 12 punts for 50 yards (4.2 ypc) and 4 kickoffs for 82 yards (20.5 avg) last year.

24-year old safety Chris Prosinski was picked in the 4th round.  Prosinski played in 13 games for the Jaguars last year and he had 9 tackles.

22-year old CB/S Rod Isaac was a fifth round pick last April.  He played in 3 games for the Jaguars but he didn’t have any tackles.

GRADE FOR 2011:  D

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C+

The Jaguars have hired 50-year old Mike Mularkey to be their new head coach.  Mularkey has been the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons the last four years.  He has been and NFL assistant coach for 16 years, serving as the offensive coordinator for 8 of those seasons.  This is his second go around as a head coach in the NFL.  He compiled a 14-18 record (43.8%) in charge of the 2004 and 2005 Buffalo Bills.  They definitely picked Mularkey to add some juice to the offense, which was pathetic last season.  Mularkey will be replacing 40-year old Mel Tucker, who served as the interim head coach the last five weeks of the 2011 season for the Jaguars.  He led the Jags to a 2-3 record as they averaged 21.0 points per game while giving up 25.8 points per game.  Coach Mularkey is going to try to convince Mel Tucker to stay on the coaching staff for 2012.

22-year old rookie QB Blaine Gabbert replaced Luke McCown after the first two games and he struggled.  The Jaguars were 4-10 (28.6%) with Gabbert at QB in 2011.  He played in 15 games (14 starts) for the Jaguars last year and he completed 210 of 413 passes (50.8%) for 2,214 yards with 12 TD passes and 11 INTs (65.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 48 times for 98 yards (2.0 ypc) in 2011.  The Jaguars have faith in Gabbert as their QB of the future.  In Gabbert’s defense……he had a lousy set of WRs and TEs to throw to in 2011.

30-year old Luke McCown couldn’t hold onto the starting QB job too long.  He started the first two games of the year for the Jaguars and they were 1-1 in those games.  McCown played in 4 games (2 starts) for the Jaguars last year and he completed 30 of 56 passes (53.6%) for 296 yards with 0 TD passes and 4 INTs (39.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 7 times for 23 yards (3.3 ypc) last year for the Jags.  McCown has now played in 20 games (9 starts) in his NFL career so far and he has completed 184 of 316 passes (58.2%) for 2,035  yards with 9 TD passes and 14 INTs (68.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 29 times for 184 yards (6.3 ypc) so far in his NFL career.  McCown is 2-7 (22.2%) as a starting QB in his NFL career.  I look for the Jaguars to try to upgrade on McCown as the backup QB before the 2012 season begins.

The Jaguars played good defense and Maurice Jones-Drew took care of the rest.  Blaine Gabbert was pretty solid in this game as a game manager type as he completed 11 of 19 passes for 92 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Maurice Jones-Drew was incredible once again last Sunday as he carried the ball 25 times for 169 yards (6.8 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  TE Marcedes Lewis (3 rec, 33 yards) and WR Chastin West (1 rec, 23 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Jags.  The Jaguars finished up with 190 yards rushing on 35 carries (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 19 passes (57.9%) for 71 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:48.

The Jaguars played great defense in this football game.  CB Kevin Rutland (9 tackles), LB Russell Allen (6 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and DE Jeremy Mincey (5 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Jags on D in this game.  CB Morgan Trent (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) and DE George Selvie (3 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery) also pitched in for the Jags in this game.  The Colts finished up with 56 yards rushing on 22 carries (2.5 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 40 passes (67.5%) for 242 yards.  The Jaguars finished the 2011 season with a 5-11 record.