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 No. 17 |
 Pick by Big Cat Country Leon Hall |
River City Rage of Big Cat Country gives us the 411:
I know. I know. This pick makes absolutely no sense. Jacksonville has a Pro Bowl CB in Rashean Mathis and an expensive stud in Brian Williams. Why in the world would they draft one, especially in the first round.Cincinnati, you're on the clock (metaphorically), and we look forward to a telegraph from the Cincy Jungle.Best. Available. Player. I attempted to move the Jaguars up in the first round so that I could grab Safety Reggie Nelson before Carolina. This failed. I had my eyes on Jarvis Moss at DE, but he was selected by Pittsburgh at 15. 17 is too early for the remaining DE's in the first round, especially with the talent at CB still on the board.
In essence, I stole a top ten talent. While cornerback is not a need by any means, there's nothing wrong with loading up on talent in every possible position. Cornerbacks get hurt, cornerbacks get expensive, and cornerbacks are premium positions. There's nothing wrong with having a fast physical cornerback learning the ropes, even if it's an alleged "waste" of a first round pick. I've also heard come crazy ideas about moving Mathis to Free Safety, if that's a serious option this pick would facilitate that nicely.
This draft illustrates a worst-case scenario for the Jaguars. With Nelson and the top DE's off the board before 17, the Jaguars will need to seriously consider moving down to the mid to late 20's where it's more appropriate to draft a player like Safety Mike Griffen, DE Charles Johnson, or DE Anthony Spencer.
Am I happy with this pick? No, certainly not. But it's never a bad idea to stockpile talent, and I decided when this draft started that I would take the best player available, if I couldn't get Nelson.
But look on the bright side, it wasn't a reach and it wasn't a wide receiver.