The Jaguars have signed safety Pierson Prioleau.  Prioleau played in 15 games last season for the Redskins and he finished with 44 tackles.  Prioleau has now played in 111 games in his NFL career and he has made 390 tackles, defensed 28 passes, has 5.5 sacks, forced 7 fumbles and he has intercepted 1 pass.  Prioleau will give the Jags depth at safety and he will also help out on special teams.

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

The Jaguars have signed 28-year old DT Jimmy Kennedy to a 1-year deal.  The 6′4″, 325 Kennedy is nothing more than a run plugger when healthy.  He played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Bears last season and he made 2 tackles.  Kennedy played in 56 games (30 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 92 tackles, has 4 sacks and he has defensed 4 passes.  This was a nice depth move as Kennedy wasn’t that expensive.

The Jaguars have signed cornerback Drayton Florence.  Florence played in 16 games last season for the Chargers and he made 62 tackles, defensed 10 passes and intercepted 2.  He has now played in 74 games in his NFL career and he has made 238 tackles, defensed 47 passes and intercepted 10 passes.  This was a good move for the Jags as Florence is a solid veteran.

The Jaguars have traded Marcus Stroud to the Buffalo Bills for a 3rd and 5th round pick in next month’s NFL Draft.  Stroud only played in 9 games last season for the Jaguars due to injuries and he made 22 tackles, defensed 2 passes and had 3 sacks.  Stroud finished his career with the Jaguars having played in 100 games in which he made 278 tackles, defensed 23 passes, sacked the QB 22 times and he forced 6 fumbles.  If the Jaguars are correct in their thinking that Stroud is on the downside of his career this will be a good trade.