1st Round Pick #8: Derrick Harvey-He was a great pickup here, he is a great passrusher and is exactly what the Jags need. Harvey has a great burst off the edge with good strength and good ass rush moves. It was a great idea to trade up to #8 to take Harvey. Grade: A
2nd Round Pick #27: Quentin Groves-I was a little suprised that they picked up another DE but the Jags get another great pass rusher. Groves can run a 4.4, he has amazing speed off the edge. Grade: B-
5th Round Pick #20: Thomas Williams-He is a smart instinctive player who can cover well, he is a physical player with a mean streak, he should contribute immediately as a special teamer. Grade: B
5th Round Pick #24: Trae Willliams-This guy outplayed Mike Jenkins, he has great ball skills, excellent instincts and good speed. His problem is that he is small and will get pushed around by physical WRs. He could be a good playmaking #2. Grade: A
7th Round Pick #6: Chauncey Washington-He gives the Jags a good 3rd RB who can catch the ball out of the backfield and contribute on special teams, he is a between the tackles runner who will add insurance in case Fred or MoJo are injured. Grade: B
Overall: B+

Personally, I question the Jag's first two selections.

I still disagree with the Harvey choice. I don't specifically disagree with the choice, as much as I disagree with the cost. I understand they wanted a pass rusher, and that's what Harvey is. The problem I have with him, is that's all he might turn out to be, and that's not worth the 8th overall pick in the draft. He's small, and a definite liability against the run. In an attempt to impress scouts, he put on 10 pounds prior to the combine, and the results were evident in his slower than expected times. He consistently gets taken to town by bigger OL, something he'll get a steady diet of in the pros. If he can somehow put on some weight and still maintain his speed and quickness, he could be very good. Otherwise, I foresee a pass rushing specialist, and that's just not worth the investment they have in him, both at the slot he was taken, and what they gave up to get there...boom or bust, that's what I see in Harvey.

Groves is a tweener, who may be too small to play DE, and did not show very well in his stint at LB after his injury. My biggest problem with the Groves selection, is the fact they could have had Jason Taylor from the Dolphins for this pick. If they had their minds set on another pass rushing DE, I'll take Taylor every day of the week over Groves. He is an established pass rusher who would have given the Jags just what they needed against Manning and the Colts twice a year, and would have provided an excellent mentor to Harvey too. IMO, the Jag's made a stupid move here, considering they understand their window of opportunity is NOW, and they gave up a chance to acquire a true difference maker at this point who still has 2-3 good years in him. Taylor for a 2nd rounder was a cheap asking price, IMO, especially considering what they gave up for Harvey, who is unproven.

Overall, with what they started out with, and their failure to pull the trigger on the Taylor deal, I give the Jag's front office a C- on their draft.

Jones 1 reason is Miami wanted a first round pick! Taylor is 34 years old, he has 1-2 seasons left. Harvey needs to work on his technique but he got a sack off of Chris Williams and caused problems for Ciron Black. He was not great against Jake Long but the first 2 plays of the game he knocked Long on his butt. They paid ALOT less then they should have paid, Harvey is going to be a good pass rusher and I think he can be a great all around DE.

It's true the Dolphins initially asked for a 1st rounder, but it's now being reported locally on ESPN radio that it became a 2nd round asking price. Say what you want, neither Harvey or Groves are in Taylor's class as a pass rusher, and getting him along with Harvey would have been ideal. Not taking Grove's other problems into account, he could well be a player without a position in the NFL. To me, it was a no brainer...let's see...if we don't beat Indy, we don't go to the SB...who would we rather have...Grove? or Taylor?...Hmmm. The answer...DUH! One of the dumbest decisions I've ever heard a front office making, IMO.

Don't get me wrong, Mr. Knowitall, I live in south Florida, but I do not like the Dolphins at all. Nor do I like Tampa. The only team I root for and enjoy watching in Florida, is Jacksonville. So, when they have a chance to get a real winner, a person who can single-handedly turn a game around (I've seen him do it on more than one occasion) for a 2nd rounder, and that player plays a position that your team just happens to need in order to greatly improve their odds of taking home the trophy, you don't sit there and take Quentin Groves. I'm sorry. BAD DECISION.

Ok here is the problem, ESPN reports alot of things, who is to say that the Jags did not inquire and Miami turned them down? Yes Groves could be out of position but he does give them a pass rusher along with Harvey and I am going to tell you, I have watched Harvey ALOT and he is going to be a very good player.

Okay...you've watched Harvey A LOT...and he is going to be a very good player...how many sacks does he get this year, Mr. Knowitall? How long will it take before he becomes this "very good player" you say he's going to become? In case you don't know it, 5-8 sacks for a rookie is pretty damn good. Barring injury, Taylor will have that many by mid-season. On top of that, Harvey is a definite liability against the run, while Taylor has become quite good against the run.

The Jags window of opportunity may be closing, and a player like Jason Taylor has never been needed more. Oline is thin, and they failed to address that in the draft. DT is not nearly as strong now. Their WRs don't exactly put the fear of God into their opponents, and the RB position becomes more and more tenuous each year as Fred Taylor gets older. It's not that they're going to suddenly become a bad team. However, they need to make a move now to take advantage of the personnel they currently have to get them over the top. Would Jason Taylor be that player? Hard to say. Everyone else would have to play up to expectations, and injuries are always a factor. However, if you look at them on paper, Jason Taylor seems to be the key that opens the door for them. He is the kind of pass rusher teams need to be aware of at all times, and he would make the secondary that much better too, because they wouldn't be covering their men that long. He would have been a great teacher for Harvey too, who could have spelled the old man, and perhaps learned a few tricks, especially when it comes to a small DE playing the run.

I think we can agree to disagree here, Mr. Knowitall. But, IMO, if Jacksonville does not beat Indy this year, the Jag's front office robbed their fans. Of course, you still have Groves.

According to NFLdraftscout, Harvey was actually pretty damn good against the run. "On 47 running plays directed into his area, the opposition was held to minus 28 (-0.6 avg), as he did not allow a rushing first down until the Capital One Bowl (Gave up 3 vs. Michigan)" Keep in mind those 3 were to numbner 1 pick Long, who is a devastating run blocker.

Jones from what I hear teams are very worried about Taylor's ability to stop the run he lost alot of weight because of Dancing With the Stars. Harvey is actually bigger then Taylor right now Harvey plays at about 6-4 270-275 right now Talyor is 6-6 250-260 and yes Taylor could make a difference but the Jags are looking towards the future here like you said their DL is getting older so why add another old guy and I do agree to disagree.


Yeah Harvey was good against the run AND he had a true freshman DT who was recruited as an OG next to him, Long did destroy him after Harvey knocked him on his butt those first 2 plays but Harvey did have 2 sacks vs. Mich.

There are More Devastating Run Blokcers in the NFL!

Yeah Brent but Harvey is going to be better and have better coaching in the NFL, he will also not have a true freshman OG playing DT next to him, he will have BIG John Henderson or Landri or Meier. Harvey alo at the start looked great he knocked Long right on his butt 2 plays in a row and got 2 sacks off of the RT but later in the game he did not seem very pumped.

Hard to stay "pumped," once your opponent gets over their initial surprise at your quickness and speed and adjusts...then starts to manhandle you the rest of the way. Suffice to say, IMO, Harvey is boom or bust, and in no way is he a sure thing until he proves it. No. 8 overall, IMO, was too high...and the picks the Jags gave up to move up were a big mistake, IMO. If, as you say, the Jags are "looking to the future," then they really blew it by giving away all those picks. Wake up, Mr. Knowitall...they're looking for NOW! That's why they panicked and moved up to get Harvey to begin with. I think the Jags front office just pulled what will be looked at down the road as a big blunder unless Harvey turns into a Jason Taylor. Between what they gave up for him and Groves, they could have stocked their team with good athletes at several positions..."for the future."

They have a team that will be good for the next few years, Taylor, Spicer, Meester, Garrard and Peterson are the only starters over 30 years old.

I have to agree with Mr Knowitall, the Jags moved up to get who they wanted to get, if they had waited the bengals would have grabbed Harvey next pick. From what I have read and heard most NFL teams were higher on Harvey then most of the sports analysts were, not sure why but that is what I have heard from several places including the Jags offical site. I agree not trading for Jason Taylor, I like the guy but the jags didn't need his 7.5 million salary and his one to two years of service if you wanted to make an argument about anything they could have given up one less 4th round pick and traded for Jared Allen but the contract he got with the Vikings I doubt the Jags would have given the same, they have been more conservative in the salary since the big cap meltdown of the late 90s early 00s.

I know Harvey was moving up some boards...again, that was SOME. Why? Because of one thing...rushing the passer. IMO, he'll likely become good at that as a pro. However, I have big doubts about him becoming anything other than a pass rusher until he proves otherwise. I was also trying to make the point that assuming Harvey does develop into an acceptable every down DE, it has been widely reported the Jags could have had Taylor for a 2nd rounder, and in their situation, with Fred Taylor now 32, and already having a history of injuries, Jacksonville needs to make a move NOW...not the two or three years from now when it is most likely that Harvey's run stopping skills begin to develop. So, yes they would have rented Jason Taylor for a year or two for a 2nd rounder, but he would have given them what they need now...plus someone to teach Harvey how to become a more all around DE with a size discrepancy. Harvey did put on 10 pounds before the combine, which resulted in a poorer performance than was expected from him, so it's likely he'll drop some weight to regain his speed for which he was drafted. Plus, doubling up on the same position in the draft like that struck me as kind of funny. It's like they were already telling Harvey, "We're not too sure about you, so just in case..." Add to that they would have kept an extra draft pick, and I think the Jags front office blew it. Time will tell, but that's my opinion.

JAGS coulda got Allen for a cheaper price than Harvey.

Well they might have been able to get him for less draft picks but KC might not have traded for the same picks from the jags because they had a higher draft pick, the other problem is Allen's asking price might have been way to high for the Jags. The stopped chasing Justin Smith from the Bengals because the asking price got to high and they wouldn't have had to trade anything. There was another good point I was reading earlier, alot of teams considered this draft kinda weak in certain positions, I know the Jags were looking OT to give Kalif Barnes some compition after he had a so-so last season and so many legal problems, but that could have been all smoke and mirrors. They seem content with Rob Meirer on DT next to Big John but I would have wished they used the second round pick for a DT instead of Groves who will probably turn into a situation guy only.

I think the biggest improvement to the Jags this year will not be the play of their DL, but their DBs. IMO, their pass rush will be better, but most likely because of schemes instituted by new DC Williams, not the two players they drafted, although they might help some too. The reason I think the DBs will make a better showing is the coaching change they made back there, going from Dave Campo to Donnie Henderson. Henderson is just what the doctor ordered to get this very talented, but highly unproductive unit to perform up to their abilities on a consistent basis. Look for the Jags to have a significant increase in the number of coverage sacks this year because of this move.