Jacksonville Jaguars 2010 NFL Draft Grade

JACKSONVILLE

1.10 Tyson Alualu, DT, California
I like both of these first two players, so it’s hard to be too cutting here. But getting Alualu at 10th was at least 15 spots too high. Plus he seems like a much better fit at 5-tech in the 3-4. He’s a high motor player with good hands, but he was a reach. I know that John Henderson is getting up there in years, but under tackle wasn’t anywhere close to the biggest need. Still, it wouldn’t surprise me if this pick really panned out for Jacksonville. Alualu is a worker. GRADE: B

3.74 D’Anthony Smith, DT, La Tech
Smith is another quick, pass-rushing, undertackle type that doesn’t make much sense from a need standpoint. I don’t understand why the Jags would draft a player, and then draft a somewhat lesser version of the same guy with their next pick. Smith makes his living getting after the quarterback, and that’s important, but what can he do that Alualu can’t? GRADE: C-

3ROUND GRADE: C-

5.143 Larry Hart, DE, Central Arkansas
Hmmm. You’ve got me, Gene. I don’t get it. The Derek Cox and Terrance Knighton picks make me tentative to doubt Smith’s eye for small-school or underrated talent, but come on. Hart’s pretty situational. GRADE: D

5.153 Austen Lane, DE, Murray State
This pick pretty much saves the last one. I thought Lane was slightly overrated as we approached the draft, but his versatility and pass rushing skill set make him one of the saving picks of this draft. GRADE: B

6.180 Deji Karim, RB, Southern Illinois
Back-back solid picks? Have Del Rio and Smith decided to put off the California move? Karim is a great complement to MJD, and his skill set could be what they were looking for with the Rashad Jennings pick last year. GRADE: B

6.203 Scotty McGee, KR, James Madison
McGee is the fastest black Irish guy in all of football. He’s a 4.37 guy that should frustrate return units with speed and his ability to keenly hide his charms. GRADE: C

FINAL ANALYSIS
Yikes. Del Rio may get run out of town, he made damn sure that he’d get the last laugh for the next five years. He’ll be in a yacht off the Caiman Islands by then. Sipping Mojitos with Gene Smith. For a GM who stated emphatically that the 3-4 was flamed out in Jacksonville, he sure drafted like he wanted to run one. Alualu is a high-motor player with violent hands who could make idiots of us all by becoming a Warren Sapp-like player. And D’Anthony Smith is at least a capable pass rusher. Deji Karim has so much upside that it’s hard not to like him in the sixth, especially with the need to keep MJD fresh. Austen Lane was good value as well, and could have gone much earlier.

But the Jaguars really reached for Larry Hart. I know Smith’s history with these types of picks, but Hart is so one-dimensional in my mind. A lot like D’Anthony. I was higher on him than some, but he makes no sense after reaching for Alualau, and with the way the draft was going, he might have been available much later. Then the Jags could have fixed an awful offensive line and found competent tacklers in the secondary. The addition of Kirk Morrison helps, but Jacksonville did as much as they could to overshadow that move with bad decisions in the draft.

Jacksonville was targeting CJ Spiller at 10. Trust me. When Buffalo surprised a lot of people by nabbing him, they panicked and couldn’t move down. They seemed off their game the rest of the draft, and it’s hard to imagine Smith batting 1000 two years in a row on unknown players. Maybe they’re looking to pull a Major League and move to a bigger market.

FINAL GRADE: C

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