Jaguars Top 10 Draft Busts: Josh Gattis

by Alfie Crow on Apr 7, 2011 7:15 AM EDT in 2011 NFL Draft

In the 2007 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected three safeties. One was first round pick Reggie Nelson, another was a special teamer named Chad Nkang who played linebacker in college, and the other was fifth round pick Josh Gattis out of Wake Forest. After organized team activities that off-season, the Jacksonville Jaguars felt comfortable enough with their safety crop that they released veteran and fan-favorite Donovan Darius. The common belief was that Josh Gattis and Gerald Sensabaugh had shown enough in OTA's that Darius was expendable. Boy, we're they wrong. They weren't really wrong in the sense that Darius was expendable, as he retired after the 2007 season.

Josh Gattis however, lit it up in OTA's and looked like he was a steal of a fifth round pick just like his counterpart Gerald Sensabaugh. Once training camp began and the pads went on however, Josh Gattis turned into the invisible man. After making plays in OTA's, he wasn't noticeable in training camp. In the pre-season he went just as unnoticed, notching only 9 total tackles, 6 of which came in the fourth preseason game where he got the start. After being raved about all through OTA's he went invisible and then was released in final cuts. He signed on with the Chicago Bears practice squad and was activated for 4 games in the 2007 season, but hasn';t played a down in the NFL since. The word I remember hearing with Gattis was he was just too soft.

Gattis now works for Western Michigan recruiting south Florida.

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Now we're talking!

A fifth round pick isn’t expected to be starter right away… but he’s certainly expected to make the roster. Especially a Safety who has tons of options to play on Special Teams.

DG is the best we have and help is not on the way. I realize he's not perfect, but I feel a lot better about him at QB than I do the O-Line, DB's, or LB's ability to cover a TE.

by pksiv on Apr 7, 2011 8:39 AM EDT reply actions

Is he the guy who stand-jumped like 5'6 or something?

I remember seeing some draft video of that or something from one of our safeties.

by Brian Levenson on Apr 7, 2011 2:19 PM EDT reply actions

5th Rounder a bust?

I’d call these guys busts before a 5th rounder.

1st Round
R. Jay Soward – 2000
Derrick Harvey – 2008
Reggie Nelson – 2007
Matt Jones – 2005
Reggie Williams – 2004
Byron Leftwich – 2003*…do I need an explanation for for Byron or anyone else above his name?
James Stewart – 1995* 3.9/carry average during his stay in Jacksonville…Not what I want from a 1st round RB
Renaldo Wynn – 1997* 2.7 sacks/year, 24.4 tackles/year…Not what I want from a 1st round DE.

2nd Round
Cordell Taylor (S) – 1998 – 11 games – no starts
Michael Cheever – © – 1996 – 17 games – 3 starts
Larry Smith (DT) – 1999 – 51 games – 7 starts
Quentin Groves (DE) – 2008
Bryan Schwartz (MLB) – 1995 – 55 games – 40 starts…averaged 57 tackles/year…
Khalif Barnes (LT) – 2005 – So much potential, such a tiny mind

3rd Round
James Hamilton (LB) – 1997 – 16 games (over 2 seasons), 1 sack, 5 tackles, 0 starts
Jorge Cordova (LV) – 2004 – 15 games (over 2 seasons), 6 tackles, 0 starts
James Boyd (DB) – 2001 – 26 games, 0 starts, 5 tackles, 1 forced fumble
Jonathan Quinn (QB) – 1998 – 1-2 as a starter, 52.8% completion, 3 TD, 4 INT, 7 Fumbles
Scott Starks (CB) – 2005* – I like him, but…54 games, 1 start, 2 INT, 2 Forced fumbles, 56 tackles
Eric Westmoreland (LB) – 2001 – 28 games, 4 starts, 36 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 fumbles recovered

Ignore the hype; look at the results.

by harperslaw on Apr 7, 2011 4:55 PM EDT reply actions