The Jaguars picked 9 players in last April’s NFL Draft and 8 of them helped the team in 2009.  It all started in the first round when the Jaguars selected OT Eugene Monroe (#8 overall) out of Virginia.  He played in 15 games (13 starts) for the Jaguars in 2009.  Monroe will team with 2nd round pick Eben Britton (#39 overall) out of Arizona to give the Jaguars a nice foundation for the O-Line for a long time.  OT Britton played in 15 games (all starts) as a rookie last season for the Jaguars.  DT Terrance Knighton (3rd round, #73 overall) out of Temple had a solid rookie year for the Jaguars.  Knighton played in all 16 games for the Jaguars last season and he finished up with 45 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 pass defensed.  CB Derek Cox (3rd round, #73 overall) out of William & Mary stepped right in for the Jags and played well as a rookie.  He played in all 16 games for the Jaguars last season and he made 72 tackles, defensed 11 passes and he had 4 interceptions.  WR Mike Thomas (4th round, #107 overall) out of Arizona stepped right in as the Jaguars #3 receiver last season and he could be moving up the depth chart for 2010.  Thomas played in 14 games for the Jaguars last season and he caught 48 passes for 453 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also carried the ball 12 times for 86 yards (7.2 ypc) for the Jags last season.  WR Jarrett Dillard (5th round, #144 overall) out of Rice was solid for the Jags before he got injured.  He played in 7 games for the Jaguars last season and he caught 6 passes for 106 yards (17.7 avg).  TE Zach Miller (6th round, #180 overall) out of Nebraska-Omaha really stepped up late last season and he could start in 2010 for the Jaguars.  Miller played in 14 games for the Jaguars last season and he caught 21 passes for 212 yards (10.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 3 yards last year.  RB Rashad Jennings (7th round, #250 overall) out of Liberty really stepped up as Maurice Jones-Drew’s backup in 2009.  He played in 15 games for the Jaguars last season and he carried the ball 39 times for 202 yards (5.2 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 16 passes for 101 yards (6.3 avg) last season.  WR Tiquan Underwood (7th round, #253 overall) out of Rutgers played in 3 games (0 starts) last season for the Jags and he didn’t catch any passes.

GRADE FOR 2009:  A

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A+

24-year old rookie RB Rashad Jennings is doing a solid job as Maurice Jones-Drew’s back-up this season.  He was selected in the 7th round (#250 overall) by the Jaguars out of tiny Liberty.  Jennings has played in 10 games for the Jags so far this season and he has carried the ball 26 times for 121 yards (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 6 passes for 40 yards (6.7 avg) for the Jaguars this year.  The Jaguars look like they found a keeper late in the draft as Jennings is a solid football player with a decent little upside.  He also has returned 3 kickoffs for 56 yards (18.7 avg) this year.

Mike Thomas has played pretty well for the Jaguars this season serving as the teams’ #3 WR.  Thomas has played in 8 games for the Jaguars this season and he has carried the ball 9 times for 82 yards (9.1 ypc) and he has also caught 25 passes for 223 yards (8.9 avg).  The 4th round pick out of Arizona might push Torry Holt to a new city next season if he finishes this year strongly.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have lost rookie WR Jarrett Dillard for the year due to a broken ankle/leg.  Dillard played in 7 games for the Jags this season and he caught 6 passes for 106 yards (17.7 avg).  The Jaguars will replace Dillard as the #4 WR with rookie 7th round pick Tiquan Underwood out of Rutgers.  He has not caught any passes yet this year for the Jaguars. 

The Jaguars have got a lot of production out of their rookies so far this season.  OT Eugene Monroe (1st round, #8 overall) has played in 6 games (4 starts) for the Jaguars this season.  He looks to be a starter for a long time with the Jaguars.  OT Eben Britton (2nd round, #39 overall) has played in six games (all starts) for the Jaguars so far this season and he even has 1 tackle.  Like Monroe it appears that Britton will be a fixture on the offensive line.  DT Terrence Knighton (3rd round, #72 overall) has been o.k. for the Jags so far this season with 20 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  CB Derek Cox (3rd round, #73 overall) has not made it to the field in a regular season game yet.  WR Mike Thomas (4th round, #107 overall) has been stepping up lately for the Jaguars.  He has caught 18 passes for 176 yards (9.8 avg) and he has also carried the ball 7 times for 52 yards (7.4 ypc) so far this season.  Thomas is working his way into the offense as the Jags have a need at WR.  Thomas has also returned 13 kickoffs for 334 yards (25.7 avg) and 8 punts for 45 yards (5.6 avg) so far this season.  WR Jarrett Dillard (5th round, #144 overall) has caught 4 passes for 66 yards (16.5 avg) so far this season for the Jaguars.  TE Zach Miller (6th round, #180 overall) has pitched in with 5 catches for 30 yards (6.0 avg) so far this season and he has also made 2 tackles.  RB Rashad Jennings (7th round, #250 overall) has carried the ball 18 times for 68 yards (3.8 ypc) and he has also caught 3 passes for 6 yards (2.0 avg) so far this season.  Jennings has also returned 3 kickoffs for 56 yards (18.7 avg) so far this season.  WR Tiquan Underwood (7th round, #253 overall) has not caught a pass yet this season but he has returned 2 kickoffs for 38 yards (19.0 avg) for the Jags.  The Jaguars really found some pretty good players last April in the NFL Draft.