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+

21-year old rookie QB Blaine Gabbert played a lot better last weekend against the Bengals.  They hope that trend continues this weekend against the Steelers, but that’s not going to be too easy.  Gabbert has played in 4 games for the Jaguars so far this year and he has completed 48 of 97 passes (49.8%) for 608 yards with 3 TD passes and 2 INTs (71.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 12 times for 28 yards (2.3 ypc).  If Gabbert is going to have a legit shot to excel, the Jaguars are going to need more guys to step up offensively other than just Maurice Jones-Drew and Mike Thomas.

Anyone who saw the Jaguars play last season knows that they needed help on D way more than on offense.  That didn’t stop the Jaguars from trading up six spots in the first round (they gave up a second round pick) to select QB Blaine Gabbert.  The whole draft hinges on Gabbert’s future.  He could bump David Garrard out of a job at some point in 2011.  He will be the franchise QB the Jaguars have been looking for.  OG Will Rackley and WR Cecil Shorts III were also added to help spark the offense.  With the last two picks, the Jags finally addressed some needs on D when they took safety Chris Prosinski and CB Rod Isaac.

PROJECTED GRADE:  B

The Jacksonville Jaguars have picked CB Rod Isaac out of Middle Tennessee State in the 5th round (#147 overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He is 5’11″, 196 pounds and he’s fast.  He had 54 tackles, 3 interceptions and he broke up 6 passes last season.  He played in 46 games in his four years at Middle Tennessee and he had 189 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, he forced 4 fumbles, recovered 3 fumbles (2 returned for TDs), broke up 18 passes and he had 5 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Harris was a playmaker in college and they hope he will be able to help them out in the secondary and on special teams starting in 2011.

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected 24-year old safety Chris Prosinski out of Wyoming in the 4th round (#121 overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Not many “experts” had Prosinski even getting drafted.  He is 6’1″, 201 pounds and he can run a 4.4 40.  Prosinksi had 108 tackles and 2 interceptions last year for Wyoming.  He had 373 tackles and 5 interceptions in his four years with the Cowboys.  Prosinski has solid atheltic ability but he’s not the most physical player around.  The Jaguars need help in the secondary but Prosinski was a big reach in my opinion as they could have probably picked him later.

The Jacksonville Jaguars picked 23-year old WR Cecil Shorts III out of Mount Union with the 114th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Shorts is 5’11″, 200 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Shorts is not a homerun hitter as a WR but he’s a very good route runner who has good hands and he makes the difficult catch.  It will be interesting to see if Shorts can handle the huge jump in competition as he was always the best player on the field when he played at Mount Union.  Shorts played in 12 games (all starts) for Mount Union last year and he caught 70 passes for 1,196 yards (17.1 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  He played in 57 games (42 starts) in his four years with the Purple Raiders and he caught 259 passes for 4,705 yards (19.5 avg) with 63 TD grabs.  This is a boom or bust pick for the Jags who hope that Shorts will be a lot like Pierre Garcon who also played at Mount Union in college.

The Jacksonville Jaguars picked 21-year old guard Will Rackley out of Lehigh with the 76th overall pick out of Lehigh.  Rackley is 6’3″, 306 pounds so he has the size to handle the job.  Rackley played in 13 games (all starts) for Lehigh last year and he played in 46 games (45 starts) in his four years there.  Rackley is a strong run blocker who also appears to be a decent pass blocker.  But, it might take time for Rackley to adjust to the jump in competition.  Even if he’s not ready to start in 2011, I like this pick for the Jaguars.

The Jaguars dealt the #16 overall pick (1st round) and the #49 overall pick (2nd round) to the Washington Redskins to move up to the #10 pick in the first round.  With that pick, the Jaguars selected 21-year old QB Blaine Gabbert out of Missouri.  Gabbert is a big guy at 6’5″, 235 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40, as he’s a pretty good athlete.  Gabbert played in 13 games (all starts) for Missouri last year and he completed 301 of 475 (63.4%) for 3,186 yards with 16 TD passes and 9 INTs.  He played in 31 games (26 starts) in his three years with the Tigers and he completed 568 of 933 passes (60.9%) for 6,822 yards with 40 TD passes and 18 INTs.  Gabbert has a great throwing arm and he has good mobility in the pocket to buy time to throw the football.  It will be interesting to see if Gabbert pushes David Garrard out of his starting job, or if he’ll be holding a clipboard in 2011.  Either way, David Garrard’s days are now officially numbered in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars started rebuilding the defense last April in the NFL Draft and I look for that to continue next weekend.  Here’s how I saw the Jaguars doing in my own mock draft:

1st round (#16 overall) – J.J. Watt, DE, Wisconsin

2nd round (#49 overall) – Quinton Carter, FS, Oklahoma

3rd round (#80 overall) – Chris Carter, OLB, Fresno State

4th round (#114 overall) – Johnny Patrick, CB, Louisville

4th round (#121 overall) – Ahmad Black, SS, Florida

5th round (#147 overall) – Jeremy Kerley, WR/KR, TCU

6th round (#182 overall) – Garrett Chisolm, OG, South Carolina

The Jaguars would have to be pleased with a haul like this one as all five defenders could possible help them next season.  Kerley could also be a steal in the 5th round as he is a gamebreaking return man.

The Jaguars looked like they were reaching a lot in the draft last April, but it looks like they got some keepers to help them on defense  and special teams.  Here’s a look at how the players they picked did as rookies last year:

Tyson Alualu:  The Jaguars took DT Tyson Alualu out of California with the #10 overall pick of the NFL Draft last April.  Alualu played in 16 games (all starts) for the Jaguars last season and he had 38 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and 1 pass defensed.  Many “experts” panned the pick of Alualu (me included) and the Jaguars made everyone look bad as he made a nice impact as a rookie.  He appears to have a really nice upside.

D’Anthony Smith:  D’Anthony Smith came to the Jags in the 3rd round (#74 overall) out of Louisiana Tech.  The DT didn’t get into any games last season due to an Achilles injury.

Larry Hart:  DE Larry Hart came to the Jags in the 5th round (#143 overall) out of tiny Central Arkansas.  He played in 14 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Jaguars last season and he had 8 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1.5 sacks.  Hart could work his way into more P.T. starting next season.

Austen Lane:  The Jaguars picked DE Austen Lane in the 5th round (#153 overall) out of Murray State.  He played in 11 games (9 starts) for the Jaguars last season and he had 20 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  Lane will need to increase his production if he wants to keep starting for the Jags going forward.

Deji Karim:  The Jaguars made a nice pick with the 180th overall pick (6th round) when they picked RB Deji Karim out of Southern Illinois.  Karim played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Jags last season and he carried the ball 35 times for 160 yards (4.6 ypc).  Karim also caught 3 passes for 10 yards (3.3 avg) last year.  Karim carved a niche for himself on special teams for the Jags as he returned 50 kickoffs for 1,248 yards (25.0 avg).  Karim has a nice upside.

Scotty McGee:  With the Jags last pick (6th round, #203 overall), they took CB Scotty McGee out of James Madison.  McGee missed his rookie year due to a shoulder injury.

GRADE FOR 2010:  C+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B