The Jacksonville Jaguars made some strides in the right direction under first year head coach Gus
Bradley. After starting the season without a win for the first eight games, Bradley was able to get this
team to win four of their final eight games. The biggest thing missing for him in this rebuilding process is
a franchise quarterback.
Currently the Jaguars have four quarterbacks listed on the depth chart if you include backup running
back Denard Robinson. Chad Henne was the starter for a majority of the season. Henne was backed up
by former first-round bust Blaine Gabbert and Ricky Stanzi. With the third pick overall, there should be
no question that they will go after a quarterback. They may still get their man based on what Houston
does with the first overall selection. Most don’t feel that the Rams will address quarterback mainly due
to the amount of money they have invested in Sam Bradford.
Chad Henne is scheduled to be a free agent and the team doesn’t feel confident with Gabbert suddenly
becoming the player they thought they drafted. Gabbert could be competing with whoever they draft
but if you are taking a quarterback in the top five, then you are expecting him to step in and start
immediately. With the recent declaration of Blake Bortles, it just adds another name that Bradley can
look at early.
Quarterback prospects to watch: Teddy Bridgewater/Louisville, Blake Bortles/Central Florida, Johnny
Manziel/Texas A&M, and Derek Carr/Fresno State.
The other position that should be a top their needs is a defensive end. This defense finished the year
ranked 26th and 29th against the pass and against the rush. They need an impact defensive end who can
pressure the passer and crash down on the running game. There is one name that wouldn’t surprise me
if they took him with their first pick. Jadeveon Clowney is a special player and if Bradley thinks that he
will get them one step closer to the defense he left in Seattle, he won’t hesitate.
Defensive end prospects to watch: Jadeveon Clowney/South Carolina, Kony Ealy/Missouri, Trent
Murphy/Stanford and Scott Crichton/Oregon State.
Team Needs (QB, OT, DE, WR, CB, RB)