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 acquired 28-year old inside linebacker Kirk Morrison from the Raiders for a 4th round pick in the NFL Draft.  Morrison played in 16 games for the Raiders last season and he finished up with 133 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and he defensed 1 pass.  In his 5 years with the Raiders he played in 80 games in which he has made 632 tackles, defensed 19 passes, he has 5 sacks and 7 interceptions.  I love this pickup for the Jaguars as Morrison is a tackling machine who will help against the running game in 2010.

The Jaguars have selected DT D’Anthony Smith out of Louisiana Tech was the 74th pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  He certainly looks the part at 6’2″, 300 pounds but he never dominated despite playing against questionable competition at Louisiana Tech.  One has to wonder if he will step up his game or not.  Smith played in 12 games (all starts) for La. Tech and he finished up with 51 tackles, 5.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and one fumble recovery.  He played in 49 games (36 starts) in his four years in college and he finished up with 197 tackles, 24 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks, 4 batted down passes, 1 forced fumble and he recovered 1 fumble.  Smith will have to develop a mean streak or the Jags are going to have a tough time getting him playing time any time soon. 

The Jaguars have selected DT Tyson Alualu out of California with the 10th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  This is a head scratcher as the Sporting News had Alualu rated as a 4th round pick and Pro Football Weekly had him going in the second or third round.  He is a tad small at 6’2″, 291 pounds so the Jaguars will likely try to get him to add some weight to his frame.  Alualu played in 13 games (all starts) for Cal last season and he finished up with 65 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, he had 7.5 sacks, batted down three passes and he forced 2 fumbles.  He played in 52 games (40 starts) in his four years at Cal and he finished up with 156 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, he had 16 sacks, batted down 6 passes, had 4 forced fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  Alualu might turn out to be a solid NFL player but I think the Jaguars took him way too early.

The Jaguars have added two solid players (DE Aaron Kampman and WR Kassim Osgood) in free agency so far this off-season.  But they are excited about this weekend’s NFL Draft.  The Jaguars have 2 of the top 74 picks in the NFL Draft but only six picks overall in the NFL Draft.  The Jaguars have needs at FS, OLB, QB and C  for 2010 and they might be able to fill all of those this weekend.  I see the Jaguars targeting QB Jimmy Clausen, OLB Sergio Kindle and S Taylor Mays with their first round pick.  The Jaguars will likely have to trade down and get a second round pick if they want a chance to draft Tim Tebow because he won’t be there with the 74th pick in the draft (3rd round).

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  The Jaguars will trade down with someone adding a 2nd round pick and then they will select FS Taylor Mays of USC.

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.