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ANOTHER DRAFT DISASTER: REVIEWING THE JAGUARS’ 2007 DRAFT

BY ZOLTAN PAKSA | JUN 28, 2011





When people point fingers at Shack Harris’ draft mistakes, they immediately
point fingers to the first round misses and the especially terrible ’08 and ’04
drafts. But sadly, we know what we have now in the 2007 draft class and it
amounts to yet another justification for moving on from Harris and into the Gene
Smith era. Jacksonville had eleven picks in this draft and after just four
seasons, there are only two players left with team – offensive guard Uche
Nwaneri and punter Adam Podlesh. Let’s relive the draft, pick by pick…

The 1st round of the ’07 draft will be remembered in the Jaguars’ point of view
as the night that the Jaguars passed on Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn not
once, but twice. Reminder, David Garrard had quite an ugly end to the 2007 and
Byron Leftwich was falling quickly out of favor with the coaches. Some still
believe Quinn was the Jaguars’ (or Jack Del Rio’s) guy, but Michael C. Wright
suggested that it was actually Kevin Kolb who the Jaguars had their eye on.
According to Vic Ketchman, there was a trade deal in place with the Steelers for
Jacksonville to move into position for Darrelle Revis. Imagine how the secondary
would look now with him on board. But the New York Jets somehow got this news
and traded ahead of Pittsburgh and stole Revis from the Jaguars’ clutches.
Switching to Plan B, the Jaguars targeted a safety with Deon Grant packing for
Seattle and Donovan Darius injured and declining. Reggie Nelson of UF was the
best safety on the board when it came time for Shack Harris’ pick and his
fantastic rookie year gave fans plenty of optimism. He played in all 16 games,
finished with 5 interceptions, 63 tackles, and 11 passes defensed – he was a no
brainer selection for the All-Rookie team.  Some still don’t get how he went
from a star-on-the rise into a punchline so quickly. It’s my contention that
Sammy Knight’s veteran savvy made the perfect match for Nelson. After Knight
left and the pass rush disappeared with him, Reggie begun to struggle…epically.
In ’08 he registered just two picks and picked up a bad habit of egregious
missed tackles. In 2009, it was pretty much guaranteed that every time the
secondary got torched with a long play, Nelson would be seen on the replay out
of position and catching up only to make a tackle that wouldn’t even be flagged
in a Powder Puff game. Right before the 2010 season, Gene Smith made a trade
with the Cincinnati Bengals, exchanging Nelson for David Jones and a draft pick
that never materialized. Jones had a good opening game against the Broncos and a
decent half in San Diego, but the rest was plenty disappointing – why the
Jaguars extended his contract is beyond me. As for Nelson, he improved admirably
after a rough start in Cincy, even finding his way into the starting lineup. He
started on six games, including five of the last six of the season. With two
interceptions, including a 53-yard return on one of them, you have to wonder if
the 2007 Reggie Nelson was returning to form. If so, the Jaguars are left
looking rather foolish. But if this was just another flash in the pan and Reggie
Nelson remain his “major bust” status, the Jaguars look wise for getting
“something for nothing”.

The 2nd and 3rd round selections, LB Justin Durant and WR Mike Sims-Walker, have
stayed with the team until this offseason, but from the way the coaches and
front office have spoken about them, there is almost no chance of seeing them in
Jaguars’ uniform next year. The reason why Gene Smith will not extend them is
their failure to realize the generous upside they were drafted for. It’s not
necessarily a clear-cut situation – Justin Durant is still the fastest and most
athletic of the Jaguars’ linebackers and despite the potential of Jason Hill and
Jarrett Dillard, Sims-Walker has proven that he could be a dangerous target. For
both players, the biggest issue was staying healthy. Sims-Walker spent his
rookie season on IR and in played only 9 games in ’08 (16 catches, 217 yards) –
alarmingly similar to Jarrett Dillard’s c career so far – and even in 2010, he
was injured and missing time or playing at less than 100% in many of the games
later in the season. Justin Durant never played in all 16 games during his first
four years as a pro. His major issue lately has become a very familiar problem
to the NFL – concussions. What it comes down to with both players is they failed
to take the next step and become the elite players they had the capability of
becoming. MSW came close to that level in 2009, but without a big-name decoy by
the name of Terry Holt for defensive coordinators to hone in on, the focus was
shifted to shutting down #11. He failed to prove to the personnel
decision-makers that he could be a threat on his own. As for Justin Durant, he
looked like he might become the Jaguars’ next unknown star linebacker next to
Daryl Smith. He looked very promising in ’07-’08 and in 2009, played at a level
above the other Jacksonville LBs. Things broke down in his contract year and
injuries hurt in a big way – even when he was on the field, he often looked out
of sync with the rest of the defense. Unlike Sims-Walker’s case, where Dillard
and Hill are legitimate candidates to replace him, I don’t exactly understand
why the Jaguars dismissed Durant so abruptly with such a gaping hole at the
position. It’s anyone’s guess how Durant’s and Sims-Walker’s careers will turn
out after their stint with the Jaguars, but don’t believe that letting them walk
away for free was the best decision on GM Gene’s part.

Moving into the middle rounds, we find the two players who are still with the
Jaguars (assuming Adam Podlesh is re-signed once the lockout ends). Podlesh was
selected in the 4th round, which for a punter is usually indicative of
incredible talent (right, Zoltan Meskó?). In his first two years, Podlesh
struggled often and was on the verge of being declared a certified bust. With
Adam sidelined for several games in 2008 because of injury, Stephen Weatherford
made a push to become the Jaguars punter of the future  After training camp,
Gene Smith and the front office decided to stick with the Maryland graduate and
allow Weatherford to go to the New York Jets. Podlesh, in turn, started showing
positive signs that year and was so good in Jaguar losses that fans would start
worrying if his first punt of the game was a good one. He finally played like a
4th round pick in 2010, playing almost completely mistake-free and showing his
talent in more than just rare flashes. He even became Pro Bowl alternate for the
AFC for being a major force on the Jaguars Special Teams. Gene Smith and the
Jaguars have made it clear they wish to resign him and that sounds like a solid
plan to me.

The other remaining member of the ’07 Jaguars draft class, Uche Nwaneri, already
got his big extension. The 5th rounder from Purdue has slowly evolved from one
of the Jaguars’ “jars on the shelf” into one of the building block of the
revamped O-line. Everyone remembers the rash of O-linemen the Jags lost before
the end of season opener in 2008; Uche stepped in and has been steadily
contributing ever since. Although he’s capable of playing center, I hope he
sticks at guard to build on his momentum at the position, rather than
re-learning and honing his skill at a different position. With a contract
keeping him in Jacksonville until 2015, Uche will join Eugene Monroe, Eben
Britton and Will Rackley as 80% of the starting O-line for the foreseeable
future. Clearly, Nwaneri has more than proven his value as a 5th round pick.

Unfortunately, the rest of the Jaguars’ draftees that year failed to prove that
they even belong at the pro level (except for Derek Landri, who had some success
last year in Carolina). Brian Smith, a 4th round DE from Missouri went to the
Physically Unable to Perform list in his rookie year, was waived in 2008, and
never went on to play in an NFL game. Let’s hope that the next Jaguar draftee
from Missouri turns out to be much, much more successful. Another 5th round
pick, Wake Forest safety Josh Gettis, was waived before the ’07 season even
started. After four games on the Chicago Bears squad that season, he never
played another snap in the NFL. The Jaguars selected two players in the 7th
round, who at first showed a lot of upside, but quickly fizzled. John Broussard,
the fast, skinny deep threat from San Diego State, made a big splash in his
first NFL game, catching a 47-yard bomb for a touchdown in the opening week
against the Titans. That was his first catch in the pros and subsequently, his
only momentum as an NFL player. He managed three more receptions, before being
benched (despite the incredibly weak ’07 WR corps) and was waived in ’08. He
spent some time with the Giants, Bears and Lions, mostly on their practice
squads, and hasn’t worked in the NFL since ’09. Chad Nkang from D-III Elon
University was a safety whose role was mostly as a backup and special teams
“gunner” for the team. After a stellar special teams campaign in 2007, in which
he played in all 16 games, many thought he would continue to be an ace on the
coverage teams. After some injuries and time on the PUP list, however, Nkang
faded and never carved out a permanent role for himself. he was waived in summer
of 2009 and has been playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL. The last
pick of the Jaguars’ picks was Andrew Carnahan, OT from Ariziona State, who was
with the Jaguars for 2 seasons, but only was a practice squad member. After
that, he spent time with the Chiefs and the Giants, but he never made it into a
regular season game.

So of these five players, the Jaguars got one good season of special teams play
from Nkang) and one long-range touchdown from Broussard; the rest never even
played a snap for Jacksonville during the regular season.

Last but not least I want to write about Derek Landri, an undersized DT from
Notre Dame and a 5th round pick in 2007, whose departure gives me bittersweet
feelings. He was named one of the “Top 10 Draft Steals” by Sports Illustrated.
He was a hard worker, who often showed promising flashes and had big moments in
the ’07 playoff games. His development went slower than expected in the
following years, but I think Gene Smith made a mistake when he released Landri
in late 2009. He was immediately picked up by the Carolina Panthers, indicating
at least some trade value, had he been shopped around. Landri started and played
in every game for the Panthers in 2010 and tallied 43 tackles and 3 sacks. I
know the Jaguars are now looking secure at DT with Knighton and Alualu, but with
Landri on board, along with D’Anthony Smith and Leger Duazable, the Jaguars
would have been fully stacked at the position and able to keep the starters
fresh by rotating in capable and dangerous backups.

I will keep my eye on Derek – and Reggie and Justin and MSW, for that matter.
These four players are employed in the NFL with time to redefine their career
elsewhere. If they become legitimate starters for more than a few years, then
the Jaguars may have made a mistake by releasing them. But the bigger mistake
was how they wasted the vast majority of their eleven draft picks in 2007. Just
imagine the Jaguars roster now, if just a couple more of them had turned out to
have an Uche Nwaneri kind of career.

–          Zoltan Paksa


Home/Jacksonville Jaguars News

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