Senior Bowl – Who will catch the Jaguars attention?

by Tkopa on Jan 19, 2009 9:49 PM EST

Jack and the staff will be coaching the South team in this year's Senior Bowl.

Having that close-up view, there are a few players who might draw their attention. Here is my list of guys Jack and crew will notice.

North Team

William Beatty the 6-6 291 lb Offensive Tackle from Connecticut. With UConn Running Back Donald Brown gaining 2,000 yards, someone was busting open the holes. William Beatty is a great run blocking tackle and a decent pass blocker. If the Jaguars want to trade down, they can still get Beatty later in the first round and add a couple of picks later. Beatty needs to show pass blocking ability but he may break into the first round with a good performance.

Max Unger the 6-5 299 lb Center from Oregon. Max Unger has earned All-Conference honors in every season, two as a Left Tackle, two as a Center. In all, he has started 51 games for Oregon. He is known for his good technique, versatility in multiple position, and endurance. Max may show he is a great second round prospect.

Rhett Bomer the 6-2 220 lb QB from Sam Houston State. The former Oklahoma QB that was thrown off the team in 2006. He has the arm strength, size and mobility to possibly develop into an NFL QB. Rhett is a second day selection and may show enough to be that "development "QB we all talk about.

Victor Harris the 5-11 186lb CB from Virginia Tech. Victor is a possible CB or Safety in the NFL. , He is known as a hitter but the Jaguars will be looking at his speed and coverage skills. If he performs well here he could be our "lucky" second round pick.

South Team

Jack Del Rio will re-live his college days with all of the USC's starting linebackers on his team. After coaching Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews it is hard not to imagine one of them being drafted into the Jaguar squad. Jack played his college ball with Clay Matthews's uncle Bruce. On draft day Rey Maualuga may be there at #8, Brian Cushing may be available at the start of round two and Clay Matthews at the start of round three. It is a good thing Gene Smith has the final word or all three might come, maybe that isn't all bad.

Herman Johnson the 6-8 380 lb Offensive Guard from LSU. It will be hard not to watch Herman, you can't miss him. As a baby, he was 23 inches and 15 pounds at birth. What may surprise the Jaguar coaching staff is how nimble he actually is. If he shows run and pass blocking, he may be our third round selection.

Chip Vaughn the 6-1 220 lb SS from Wake Forest. The Jaguars suffered from poor tackling in the secondary and were susceptible to plays to the tight end or running back. They don't have an enforcer with an attitude and a punch. Chip Vaughn may demonstrate his renowned pop and get himself penciled in as a strong fourth or fifth round prospect.

Jack and the staff are looking for two things; players that can protect David and players that can play aggressive hard hitting defense. This year's draft has plenty of offensive linemen and linebackers. Watch for Jack to come back all pumped up.

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Comments

Bomar

Rhett Bomar is a very interesting prospect to me. He has decent but not great size, good arm strength, release and mobility. My main concerns would be accuracy he seems to be a little over confident in his arm, maybe forcing the occassional pass and playing against weak competition. I would love to see him picked in day two for the future though.

by Guardian on Jan 19, 2009 11:35 PM EST reply actions

Rey Maualuga

I wonder if he’ll even make it to #8. If so, I’d say he’d be the BAP by far. I can’t possibly see him not having a great career in the NFL.

by JirafaBo on Jan 19, 2009 11:43 PM EST reply actions

Although Rey is a talented player I don’t see him being a jaguar. We already have solid talent at LB and we could address a bigger need with that first round pick. I could see Cushing or Matthews being selections later on.

by Guardian on Jan 19, 2009 11:59 PM EST up reply actions

Remember the rules of BAP

Regardless of position, the BAP is the BAP. Only if there is a BAP tie can need come into play.
Thanks for joining the discssion.

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by Tkopa on Jan 20, 2009 6:04 AM EST up reply actions

LB

Actually, we aren’t very deep at all at the LB position anymore. Especially after we drop Peterson. If he’s gone, Maualuga comes in and plays middle, basically taking Petersons spot and moving back to our old lineup. That will give us 4 LBs of starter quality. Like Tkopa said, if we’re sticking to BAP, solid talent at LB has nothing to do with it unless it’s a tie.

I do believe though, that there is a little more wiggle room than Vic likes to say when using BAP. If you’re at the number 8 pick and you have your 7, 8, and 9th rated players on your value board, but you need the 9th more than the 7th and 8th, you can choose the 9th. But any farther than one or two ranks away from your pick, and you gotta recoup the value and trade down.

by JirafaBo on Jan 20, 2009 11:16 AM EST up reply actions

Exactly right

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by Tkopa on Jan 20, 2009 11:54 AM EST up reply actions

Hypothetically,

What do you guys feel about a 3-4 with Harvey and Groves on outside with Big John in Middle and Ingram and Durant as outside backers while Maualuga and Smith pack the middle? Haha just saying.

by harveyismyboy on Jan 20, 2009 5:26 PM EST up reply actions

All of the personnel is wrong

Big John is a prototype 4-3 DT, rather than a massive unmovable 3-4 NT. Groves would be better off as a 3-4 outside backer. The DEs in a 3-4 need to be bigger than Harvey, and they generally are more for stopping the run.

by MoveThoseChains on Jan 20, 2009 5:51 PM EST up reply actions

Not Right Now

But we could alter our defense to run the 3-4 within a few years. If we got a massive DT in the draft, he could play NT. Big John and Rob Meier/Derek Landri could be the ends. And we wouldn’t even have to spend a high draft pick on a linebacker. Daryl Smith and Clint Ingram could man the middle, while we could grab a smaller, quiker guy like Clay Matthews or even Brian Cushing for one of the outside spots, or maybe use Quentin Groves in his more natural place as an outside backer. Justin Durant could be the other outside linebacker with his great speed.

However the downside is expensive Derrick Harvey is the odd man out, as he doesn’t really fit anywhere in a 3-4 in my opinion. He could maybe be a situational pass rush guy. Another downside is the JDR comes from a 4-3, cover two type background which is a lot different than the 3-4, so he too would have to agree to run it. But I really like the idea, and it would be great if the Jags would experiment with it in the pre-season.

by Bestjagfan on Jan 20, 2009 7:06 PM EST up reply actions

More and more I warm to the idea

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by Tkopa on Jan 20, 2009 7:44 PM EST up reply actions

I've never liked a 3-4

It puts you at an inherent disadvantage against a team with a good O-line as you have less “Beef” up front. Not to mention we really don’t have the personnel to really run it. Henderson is in no way a 3-4 DE. Maybe Landri. Pittsburgh has THE 3-4 master running their defense, but other than that, there aren’t any real dominant 3-4 defenses.

"I smoke. If this bothers anyone, I suggest you look around at the world in which we live and shut your mouth."-Bill Hicks

by Jonathan Loesche on Jan 20, 2009 9:29 PM EST up reply actions

The advantages of the 3-4

are nullified by the amount of teams running it. What made the 3-4 so great was that there are often more 3-4 outside linebackers than 4-3 defensive ends. Now as the 3-4 became more trendy (Thanks largely to New England), it’s becoming more difficult to find all the pieces, especially the nose tackle.

Also, it’s less mysterious than it was a few seasons ago. Even Manning and the Colts learned to not freak out at all the shifts and masked coverage.

I don’t think we go to a 3-4 until we change head coach. Though as I’ll show everyone tomorrow, that might be sooner than we think.

(I’m a tease)

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by River City Rage on Jan 20, 2009 9:42 PM EST up reply actions

I probed this question

about 2 months back and was scouffed at. Could there be any link to the Tucker interview? The Cleveland Browns have always (as long as I’ve been alive) run a 3-4 defense.

The key here is the linebacker corps. They have to be ‘hit and tackle guys’ and deep in personell. The cornerbacks take on more of a cover role. I don’t see Harvey the odd man out at a defensive end role in a 3-4, but the more I think about this… there is not enough depth at linbacker for this defense. I think the draft of ’08 was the time to decide this. We had Grady J. for NT. The Jags comitted to a 4-3. Anything over last years debauckle will be an improvement.

Again I say the defense needs a hard hitting cornerback.

by Jaghomer on Jan 21, 2009 7:49 AM EST up reply actions

Victor Harris

As a Hokie fan, I’ve watched Macho the last four years. He’s a hitter with amotor that doesn’t quit. The Jags could do lots worse if he lasts into the second round.

by Jacked Up on Jan 20, 2009 5:16 AM EST reply actions

Bomar won't escape the 1st half of the third round

He’s accepting a $10,000 check for doing jack at an OU booster’s car dealership away from having been the starting QB against UF. That doesn’t happen he’s in the race with Stafford and Sanchez for the Top QB prospect in the draft. Not saying I wouldn’t mind drafting him, but I think your assessment of him as a second day “Jar on the Shelf” is abit off base.

"I smoke. If this bothers anyone, I suggest you look around at the world in which we live and shut your mouth."-Bill Hicks

by Jonathan Loesche on Jan 20, 2009 11:19 AM EST reply actions

As for Herman Johnson

Watched a good amount of LSU games and I didn’t see a OL impress me more than he did all year. Wouldn’t mind him on the team at all.

"I smoke. If this bothers anyone, I suggest you look around at the world in which we live and shut your mouth."-Bill Hicks

by Jonathan Loesche on Jan 20, 2009 11:25 AM EST up reply actions

John, I think that supports the trade down option

If there is quality lower in the first, maybe your idea of moving down is justified.

Thanks

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by Tkopa on Jan 20, 2009 11:43 AM EST up reply actions

I like Johnson too

but I have an issue with him being so tall. Normally that doesn’t bother me, but considering Garrard is kinda short and he already has a few passing lane problems I would think twice about drafting him. One of Johnson’s weaknesses has been cutting defenders down. So that might lower his value on this team. Granted we don’t do a lot of cut blocking, but there comes the occasion like in a 2 min drill where you have a quick drop pass and you just need him to clear the passing lanes.

by Ewdtrey on Jan 21, 2009 5:53 AM EST up reply actions

You might be right

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by Tkopa on Jan 20, 2009 11:56 AM EST up reply actions

Clay Matthews & Max Unger

Clay Matthews may be undersized, but the guy can play. If we could take him in the third or fourth(maybe fifth) he could be an outstanding special teamer, and someday maybe work his way into the starting rotation.

I also like Max Unger, who has good versatility. He could kill two birds with one stone for now, as he could take over at left tackle and when Brad Meester leaves, grab the center spot. We could take another left tackle later in the draft and develop him, so when Max Unger moves to center the late round pick could move to tackle.

by Bestjagfan on Jan 20, 2009 5:19 PM EST reply actions

You sound like a West Coast knowledgable guy

Thanks for the input. I think both guys mentioned would be very dedicated players, unselfish with a great team attitude.

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by Tkopa on Jan 20, 2009 5:29 PM EST up reply actions

I like Clay

but I just don’t think Unger anchors down well enough for center and he’s not strong enough to play G, and he’s not quite fast enough to play OT in the NFL. I think Norman is a much better version of him. I did like the idea of Unger at first, but not so much any more after I started watcing him more.
I like Mack a little more, but he ends up on the ground more than I would like out of a top tier C.
Clay kind of reminds me of a guy already on our team, Tim Shaw. Fast and athletic, DE/LB tweener in college that will be a LB in the NFL. Both are try hard guys too.

by Ewdtrey on Jan 21, 2009 6:00 AM EST up reply actions