2010 Jaguars Draft Recap

By: Jake

In what was the most insane first round of an NFL draft I’ve ever seen, the Jaguars may have made one of the most intriguing picks in Tyson Alualu. Alualu was a late riser on the boards right before the draft and was kept pretty much a secret by most NFL insiders but was rumored to go to the Dolphins at pick 12 and the Jaguars couldn’t risk not getting their disruptive DT that they wanted. The Jaguars had no 2nd round pick due to trading it to the Patriots for the pick that yielded Derek Cox last year, but their 3rd round pick was a questionable one. DT D’Anthony Smith was another pick very few knew about but added another body to the much deprived Defensive Line who only recorded 12 sacks last year and gave up a lot on the ground. Smith, a 6’2” 305 lb run stuffer from Louisiana Tech should be extremely good depth at DT and could get significant time if John Henderson is traded in the near future. The next round the Jaguars were able to execute a great trade in which they exchanged their 4th for the Raiders 5th and MLB Kirk Morrison. The Raiders could not work out a contract with Morrison and he became expendable after the team used their 1st round pick on MLB Rolando McClain. Morrison was exactly what the Jaguars needed at MLB after they rotated Durant, D. Smith and even sometime Russell Allen at MLB last year. Morrison has never missed a game in his Pro career and has recorded triple digit tackles in every year also. At 28, he’s a young player who will fit perfectly in the Jags defense and allow Smith and Durant to be even more effective on the outside. Morrison’s deal however is only 1 year deal and the Jaguars will need to resign him next year if they want to keep his services for any longer duration of time.

With no 4th round pick the Jaguars had to wait until the 4th round to pick again and they didn’t hesitate to add more depth and talent to the D-Line as they chose De/OLB Larry Hart from Central Arkansas and Austen Lane from Murray State. Of those two, the more recognizable name is Lane who stands at 6’ 6” and 276 lbs and recorded 12 sacks last year with 22 TFL. Lane was given a 3rd round pick grade by CBS Sportsline so it looks like the Jaguars got great value here in a position of need. 6th round pick Deji Karim from Southern Illinois represents the 4th player in a row taken from a small school. When looking at him, many Jaguars fans can’t help to see a little Maurice Jones-Drew in him, as even his number was similar to MJD’s (31). The 5’9” RB scored 20 times in 2009 and averaged 7.1 ypc in his Senior year at S. Illinois along contributing 2,339 all purpose yards for the Salukis that year. Karim will likely be the Jaguars opening day Kick Returner according to GM Gene Smith. With their final pick in the draft the Jaguars selected their PR for next year in CB Scotty McGee from James Madison.