No team comes into the 2015 NFL Draft in better shape than the Jacksonville Jaguars. They took care of their coach and the quarterback situation last year and while they have needs all over the team, they can address them in any round. The Jaguars invested some high picks in wide receiver last year and made one of the best undrafted free agent signings of 2014 when they added Allen Hurns out of Miami. If anything they don’t need to add a rookie to the mix with Hurns, and their two second round picks from last season Marqise Lee out of USC and Penn State’s Allen Robinson.
What should they do? Well, I’ll tell you.
First round, No. 3
Leonard Williams, DT, USC
2014: 60 tackles, 9.5 tackles for a loss, seven sacks, one interceptions, four passes defended, two quarterback hurries, one fumble recovery, three forced fumbles
There’s an argument to be made for Dante Fowler Jr. or Vic Beasley here and I hear them. In fact, Fowler is all but picking out furniture for his Jacksonville townhouse, but with Winston and Mariota going 1-2, and they will, there’s no way the Jaguars pass on the consensus best player in the draft, especially with Sen’Derrick Marks coming off a torn ACL and Roy Miller delivering all of one sack last season. Williams is a no-brainer pick and the Jaguars should already have his name on the back of a jersey in their team store.
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Second round, No. 36
Nelson Agholor, WR, USC
2014: 104 catches, 1,313 yards, 12 touchdowns
How does Agholor end up in the second round? The same way Jordan Matthews ended up there last year. Agholor has all the tools to be a star in the NFL, with 4.42 speed and hands that can catch anything. A lot of time measurables take precedence over production when it comes to draft prospects, but there’s no excuse for Agholor to last past this pick because he has both at 6-foot, 198-pounds. With Agholor and Williams this year and Lee last year, the Jags can build a USC East. Might as well grab quarterback Matt Barkley when the Eagles cut him too.
Third round, No. 67
Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska
2014: 264 carries, 1,611 yards, 19 touchdowns
Years ago a player like Abdullah would have never made it out of the Top 10, but times and the NFL has changed. The Jaguars need a running back upgrade and as fun a player as former Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson is, he’s probably not the guy. Abdullah has back-to-back 1600-yard seasons with Nebraska and can be a day-one starter for Jacksonville.
Fourth round, No. 103
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
2014: 63 tackles, one tackle for a loss, two interceptions, 11 passes defended, one forced fumble
Ekpe-Olomu is a nickel back in the pros. At 5-foot-9, he’ll be manhandled on the outside, but facing smaller slot receivers the 40-game starter for the Ducks should have a nice little NFL career. Olomu’s size and the fact that he injured his knee late in the year drops him to this round, but he’s a multi-talented guy that can play on special teams defense and return punts.
Fifth round, No. 139
Kurtis Drummond, S, Michigan State
2014: 72 tackles, five tackles for a loss, four interceptions, 15 passes defended, one fumble recovery
On a standout defense, Drummond was the player on the back end that made it all click. At 6-foot-1, 208 pounds he has the size to take on running backs and tight ends in the open field. His 4.65 speed isn’t blazing, but it’s plenty fast enough to hang with most of the tight ends he’ll line up across and plenty fast enough to lay the wood to running backs coming out of the backfield.
Sixth round, No. 180
Darryl Roberts, CB, Marshall
2014: 75 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, one interception, 12 pass breakups, one forced fumble
Roberts has a couple of inches on Ekpe-Olomu and is more of the prototype size for a defensive back and has the potential to become a starter in a few years, based on his production and the 4.38 speed be put on display at his pro day.
Seventh round, No. 220
Andrew Donnal, OT, Iowa
The other tackle from Iowa finally lands a job in the seventh round with the Jaguars. At 6-foot-6 and 313 pounds, Donnal has the size needed to compete at the NFL level, but unless a disaster happens on the Jaguars line, it won’t be in 2015. Donnal is a project like most linemen taken this late, but he’s produced in college and got the coaching pedigree needed to succeed.
