The Jacksonville Jaguars selected punter Byran Anger out of California with the 70th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2012 NFL Draft.  Anger has a big time leg as he drives the ball down the field.  He is likely going to have to improve his accuracy a little bit as he sometimes outkicks his coverage.  Anger played in 13 games for California last year and he punted the ball 53 times for 2,345 yards (44.2 avg).  Anger pinned opposing offense’s inside their own 20-yard line 19 times (35.8%) last year for California.  Anger played in 51 games in his four years at California and he punted the ball 255 times for 11,094 yards (43.5 avg).  He also pinned opposing teams inside their own 20-yard line 90 times (35.3%) in his career at Cal.  This was a little early to take a punter, but the Jaguars got the best one.

The Jaguars have picked OLB/DE Andre Branch out of Clemson with the 38th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2012 NFL Draft.  Branch is 6’4″, 260 and he runs a 4.65 40, so he’s a good enough athlete to give OLB a chance.  He played in 14 games (all starts) for Clemson last year and he had 85 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss and 10.5 sacks.  Branch played in 48 games (27 starts) in his four years at Clemson and he had 197 tackles, 33.5 tackles for a loss, 17.5 sacks and he broke up 10 passes.  Branch will have to toughen up against the run if he’s going to be a full-time starter in the NFL, so the Jaguars’ coaches are going to have to coach him up.  Still, the Jaguars need help in the pass rush and that is the strength of Branch’s game, so this is likely a solid pick for them.

The Jaguars have waived 25-year old RB/KR Deji Karim.  Karim played in 12 games for the Jaguars last year in which he carried the ball 63 times for 130 yards (2.1 ypc) and he also caught 14 passes for 120 yards (8.6 avg).  Karim also has returned 27 kickoffs for 652 yards (24.2 avg) last year.  Karim played in 23 games in his two years with the Jaguars in which he carried the ball 98 times for 290 yards (3.0 ypc) and he caught 17 passes for 130 yards (7.6 avg).  Karim also returned 77 kickoffs for 1,900 yards (24.7 avg) for the Jaguars.  They won’t miss Karim offensively, but he should hook on with another team as a kick returner in 2012.

The Jaguars sent the #7 overall pick (1st round) and the #101 pick (4th round) to the Tampa Bay Bucs to move up two spots to take WR Justin Blackmon.  Blackmon is 6’1″, 210 and he runs a 4.5 40.  He is not a blazer, but he’s a very effective WR due to his aggressiveness and ability to win almost every jump ball.  He has a great set of hands.  Blackmon played in 13 games (12 starts) for Oklahoma State last year and he caught 121 passes for 1,522 yards (12.6 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  He played in 35 games (26 starts) in his three years with the Cowboys and he caught 252 passes for 3,564 yards (14.1 avg) with 40 TD grabs.  Blackmon will team with Laurent Robinson to give the Jaguars a very nice pair at WR for the future……starting in 2012.

WR Jimmy Smith made 5 straight Pro Bowls (1997-2001) with the Jacksonville Jaguars.  His best two years came in 1999 and 2001.  In 1999, Smith played in 16 games (all starts) in which he caught 116 passes for 1,636 yards (14.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  In 2001, Smith played in 16 games (all starts) for the Jags and he caught 112 passes for 1,373 yards (12.3 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Smith played in 171 games (150 starts) in his 11 years with the Jaguars and he caught 862 passes for 12,287 yards (14.3 avg) with 67 TD grabs.  Smith is the Jaguars’ all-time leader in catches (862), receiving yards (12,287) and TD receptions (67) in Jaguars’ history.

41-year old lefty throwing QB Mark Brunell retired from the NFL yesterday.  He is by far the best QB in the history of the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Brunell played in 120 games (117 starts) in his 9 years (1995-2003) with the Jaguars and he completed 2,184 of 3,616 passes (60.4%) for 25,698 yards with 144 TD passes and 86 interceptions (85.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 429 times for 2,219 yards (5.2 ypc) with 14 TD runs with the Jaguars.  Brunell is all over the record books for the Jaguars as he is the all-time leader in Jags’ history in passing yards (25,698), TD passes (144) and QB wins in games they started with 63 of them.  He is also #4 in rushing yards (2,219) and #6 in rushing TDs (14).  Brunell was 63-54 (53.8%) as a starting QB during the regular season and he made it to 3 Pro Bowls in his 9 years with the Jaguars.

Brunell didn’t stop there as he also started 8 playoff games for the Jaguars in which they were 4-4.  He completed 124 of 244 passes (50.8%) for 1,525 yards with 10 TD passes and 10 interceptions.  He also carried the ball 27 times for 103 yards (3.8 avg) in the playoffs for the Jaguars.

Simply put, Mark Brunell is by far the best QB in the history of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars have released 26-year old safety Darcel McBath.  McBath played in 1 game for the Jaguars last year and he had 2 tackles.  He has played in 21 games in his first three years in the NFL and he had 45 tackles, 4 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  This is no loss to the Jags as McBath did next to nothing for them last year.

The Jaguars are going to try to make the most of the seven picks they have in the 2012 NFL Draft.  Here is a look at who I saw them getting in my mock 2012 NFL Draft which appears on bloglockers.com:

1. (7) Melvin Ingram, OLB, South Carolina

2. (38) Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

3. (70) Mitchell Schwartz, OT, California

4. (101) Cam Johnson, DE, Virginia

5. (142) Jarius Wright, WR, Arkansas

6. (176) T.J. Graham, WR, North Carolina State

7. (228) Kevin Koger, TE, Michigan

The Jaguars have signed 31-year old WR Lee Evans to a 1-year deal.  Evans played in 9 games for the Ravens last year and he caught 4 passes for 74 yards (18.5 avg).  Evans has now played in 118 games in his first 8 years in the NFL and he has caught 381 passes for 6,008 yards (15.8 avg) with 43 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 10 times for 145 yards (14.5 ypc) so far in his NFL career.  I really like this pickup for the Jaguars, as Evans will prove to be a nice upgrade at WR if he has anything left in the gas tank.

The Jaguars have re-signed 25-year old CB William Middleton to a 1-year deal.  Middleton played in 11 games for the Jaguars last year and he had 38 tackles, 1 interception, 3 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 39 games in his first three years with the Jaguars and he has 105 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 passes defensed, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 sack.  This was a good move for the Jaguars as Middleton is a decent corner.