If I had been drafting for the Jacksonville Jaguars...

As we are nearly into the month of April and the 2011 NFL Draft being only 5 weeks away, I wanted to take a look back at past drafts. Not necessarily to look at the horror of bad drafting, but to just compare and contrast and how my mock drafts looked versus what the Jacksonville Jaguars actually drafted. I don't want to hurt my arm patting myself on the back, but I think the team would have been much better off with my picks in the draft. Oh, and the SBNation.com's writers mock draft begins today.

I stole this idea from Brian Galliford over at Buffalo Rumblings, by the way.

2006 NFL Draft

We'll start all the way back in 2006, because I can only remember one mock draft pick and I can't get deep enough into the JagNation.com archives to find out who we picked in the second round, but I know it wasn't Maurice Jones-Drew. I believe we actually had him going to the Colts with their first round pick. How scary would that have been?

This wasone of the easiest Jaguars draft picks to peg that I can remember. The Jaguars really needed a pass catching threat at the TE position to go with the wide receivers they drafted, as they were building around then quarterback Byron Leftwich. Lewis was actually a perfect blend of need and value in that draft.

2007 NFL Draft

This draft was an interesting one to mock for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars originally picked 17th and wound up trading down with the Denver Broncos. The Broncos selected defensive end Jarvis Moss, who quite a few had mocked to the Jaguars that year.

 We knew the Jaguars were looking to inject some youth in the linebacker position and I felt like Lawrence Timmons would be a nice fit as an atheltic linebacker. I knew the Jaguars were hot for Kevin Kolb talking to some of the scouts I knew. This was also when the souring on Byron Leftwich really began and I didn't think David Garrard was the answer. This is the year I began beating the draft a quarterback drum, and if Kolb had made it to the Jaguars pick, I feel pretty confident saying they'd have drafted him.

2008 NFL Draft

The 2008 off-season had the Jaguars thinking they were right on the cusp of a Super Bowl berth and would challenge for the division. Obviously the pass rush was a big area of concern then, just like it is now.

As we know, almost anything aside from what the Jaguars picked in 2008 could have been better than what it turned out. I picked Campbell because he was a versatile strong side end who could also rush the passer from the inside. Turns out he's a nice fit in the 3-4 for the Cardinals. I like Charles Godfrey a lot as a safety instead of corner and thought he'd pair nicely with Reggie Nelson who had a really nice rookie season.

2009 NFL Draft

This was a real interesting draft because it was the first one with general manager Gene Smith. We weren't sure of his tendencies, but we had an idea he wasn't going to be swinging at guys like Michael Crabtree like a lot of Jaguars fans wanted. I knew he had an eye for Mark Sanchez, but I didn't envision him falling to the Jaguars. Sure enough, the Jets jumped up and snapped him else I think Gene Smith would have taken him. We also knew left tackle was a big need for the Jaguars with Khalif Barnes hitting free agency despite signing Tra Thomas.

I never thought Monroe would make it to the 8 slot and most had the Jaguars taking Jason Smith at the 8 spot, who I was never a big fan of. I thought Raji presented great value for the Jaguars who's age was showing on the defensive line. I wanted to go back to the safety well again with Delmas, because Reggie Nelson was still struggling and Delmas reminded me a lot of Colts safety at the time, Bob Sanders.

2010 NFL Draft

In the 2010 draft, no one really knew where Gene Smith would go. A lot of people (including myself) thought Jimmy Clausen was a real possibility at the 10 spot, but most people didn't think he'd even make it there. Turns out he made it all the way to the second round. C.J. Spiller was also a popular thought at the position, but I never understood that line of thinking consider Maurice Jones-Drew had just gotten a contract and was coming off a Pro-Bowl season. Linebacker Rolando McClain was also a popular choice.

I took Joe Haden in the SBNation.com writer's mock draft last year because I thought he was great value there. I thought long and hard about safety Earl Thomas as well. Even though Derek Cox had a decent rookie season, I thought someone like Haden would shore up the cornerback spot for the long term and kill two birds with one stone allowing Rashean Mathis to move to the safety position. Obviously Tyson Alualu came out of nowhere, but so far he looks like he'll work out.

I must say however, I think if I had been GM I'd have made some money with my first round picks.