War Room Grading System -
What Scouts are looking for -
How to Read the War Room Charts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Posted: Sun April 19, 1998 at 9:53 p.m.
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos | School |
|---|
| 1 |
9 (from Buffalo) |
Fred Taylor |
RB |
Florida |
| 1 |
25 |
Donovin Darius |
DB |
Syracuse |
| 2 |
57 |
Cordell Taylor |
CB |
Hampton |
| 3 |
86 |
Jonathan Quinn |
QB |
Mid-Tenn. State |
| 4 |
101 (from Buffalo) |
Tavian Banks |
RB |
Iowa |
| 4 |
118 |
Harry Deligianis |
DL |
Youngstown State |
| 5 |
148 |
John Wade |
OC |
Marshall |
| 6 |
179 |
Lammanzer Williams |
DE |
Minnesota |
| 6 |
182 (from Green Bay) |
Kevin McLeod |
FB |
Auburn |
| 7 |
192 (from Chicago) |
Alvis Whitted |
WR |
N.C. State |
| 7 |
214 |
Brandon Tolbert |
LB |
Georgia |
* compensatory pick
QB - This unit was so deep and talented last season, the team was able to trade backup QB Rob Johnson away for a 1st and 3rd rd. pick. Mark Brunell was injured early in the year, and Johnson was able to step in and run the offense effectively. Brunell returned quickly from his knee injury, and had a solid season. He looks ready to have another huge season in this pass happy offense. With the loss of FA RB Batrone Means, they may throw it even more this season. #3 QB Steve Matthews was impressive in his only 1997 start, beating the New York Giants 40-13. Matthews will move into the #2 role this season. Look for them to add anther QB late in the draft, or an undrafted rookie FA they like.
RB - Big problems here with the loss of FA RB Natrone Means. Means was up and down last season, but was never really going to flourish in this offense. He is the type of RB that needs 20+ carries to be effective, and that just wasn't going to happen in this pass happy offense. The loss of Means leaves only James Stewart. Stewart has never really been a consistent guy, and they will be hard pressed to think he can be a dominant force as an every day starter. Stewart also struggles to hold on to the football, and more carries means more fumbles. The team has 2 1st rd. picks... one of them may be spent on a RB.
WR - The duo of Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell is solid. It's right up there behind Carter/Reed (MN), and Moore/Morton (Det). They have been very productive. The only negative has been their inability to consistently make plays inside the red zones, as this Jaguar offense continues to settle for too many FG's. The biggest concern will be finding a quality #3... Willie Jackson hasn't been able to be that guy on a consistent basis, and Reggie Barlow is a better KOR guy than WR. Look for them to draft another WR in the early to middle rds.
TE - The team has finally dumped underachieving TE Derek Brown, opening up the opportunity for their other guys to florish. 1997 rookie Damon Jones is the most athletic TE to come out of college in some time, and became a force late in the year. Jones has had problems playing up to his potential, but he seems to be flourishing under the watchful eye of Head Coach Tom Coughlin. TE Pete Mitchell is also a solid pass catcher... he isn't very big, but finds ways to get open. The only missing ingredient is a big run blocking guy. They may need one to help a run offense that looks to be down a bit in 1998.
OL - Unit is good, but they don't dominate like they should. LT Tony Boselli looked good until he sprained his ankle... he rushed back too quickly, and struggled in pass pro. late in the year. RT Leon Searcy has been able to dominate when he wants to. The biggest ? is at OC. Michael Cheever has had chronic back problems, forcing them to sign RFA Quentin Neujahr from Baltimore. Cheever has never started, and Neujahr struggled when he was forced to start in Baltimore. It's tough to run the football with inexperience at the OC position. If they don't deal RG Brian DeMarco, he will once again battle Rich Tylski to regain his starting spot. DeMarco hasn't held that spot since his injury in 1996.
DL - Age/injuries decimated this unit last season, especially inside. DT's Don Davey, John Jurcovic, and Kelvin Pritchett, all were on IR by seasons end, forcing them to rush rookies Renaldo Wynn and Seth Payne into action too early. DE's Jeff Lageman and Clyde Simmons showed their age, and neither was a consistent force as a pass rusher. Simmons is gone, and Lageman has re-signed for one season. With Simmons gone, DE Tony Brackens will try to become an every down guy. He has strictly been a nickle rusher to this point. With everyone back healthy, they are deep at DT, but have big huge ?'s at DE. May draft a guy here with 2nd pick in the 1st rd.
LB - The addition of star OLB Bryce Paup may force a shakup in this unit. The new plan may call for Paup to start at SLB, with Kevin Hardy moving over to the WLB spot. The team had talked about releasing WLB Eddie Robinson on June 1st, but are so concerned about MLB Bryan Schwartz, they may have to keep him for insurance. Schwartz, Brunell, and Boselli, have become overly religious the past few years, and football seems to no longer be a huge priority. Boselli and Brunell have enough God given talent to get by, but Schwartz gets by on toughness and hard work... without that, he is no longer a top notch player. With the return of MLB Tom McManus from a knee injury, Schwartz is riding on thin ice. When Schwartz was out in 1996 with a knee injury, McManus was more than an ample replacement.
DB - Will be a focal point in the draft... the team has talked about taking the 9th and 25th overall picks in the 1st rd. and trying to trade up with Arizona... they would like to move up to #3, and select DC Charles Woodson out of Michigan. DC Dave Thomas was inconsistent last season, and Aaron Beasley missed a lot of action with a hip injury. DC Deon Figures struggles when he isn't the #3 DC covering the slot WR. This team could benefit from adding 2 DC's in this draft.
ST - PT Bryan Barker and PK Mike Hollis were both selected to the Pro Bowl. Barker struggles late in the season after being named to the team. Hollis had a great season, but the team hopes they will see a lot less of him this year, meaning they will be scoring more TD's inside the Red Zone. The return game was shaky for much of the year, but they may have found a KOR man Reggie Barlow... he took one back for a TD late in the season. Team needs to improve their KOR cover unit... they gave up way too many big plays last season.
From the War Room
|
