The Jaguars 2010 draft is going to be the butt of every draft related joke made between now and September. The local media is already having a field day and it's only going to get worse on Monday morning. However, I'm trying to look at this from Gene Smith's perspective. What is see is a draft where if I had a slot one or two places ahead of where I was, things wouldn't be so bad right now.
Last night, the Jaguars saw the Oakland Raiders suddenly start caring about the draft again and take Rolando McClain at #8. McClain was a player the Jags were very high on and almost certainly would've been the pick at 10 if they didn't trade back. Then Buffalo gave the draft's initial shock by selecting CJ Spiller at number 9. Spiller was another name the Jaguars were linked to and would've been a much better PR move than Alualu.
Did the Jaguars simply panic with Alualu? I'm not sure. Were they in such a state of shock two players they thought would be there at 10 they went into a panic and thought he would be gone as well? As I said, we'll never know.
In the third round, it happened again to the Jaguars. Georgia Tech S Morgan Burnett, a late 1st/2nd round player according to many, was sitting there within the Jaguars reach. However, he was taken two picks ahead of the Jaguars. Then Arkansas St DE Alex Carrington, another player the Jags liked, was taken a pick ahead of the Jaguars. Once again seeing two prime candidates be selected so suddenly, the Jaguars drafted another defensive tackle.
It definitely hasn't been a "Sexy" draft and it has been a draft that will question all of the "In Gene We Trust" vibes in the Jaguars community. We'll just need to wait and see in September.
Also, I have to wonder just what is Gene's relationship with other GMs in the NFL. Is the Don Carey thing biting him in the ass? It's just suspicious he can't get a deal done twice, especially considering the second time, the Eagles traded within the division to Dallas rather than to Jacksonville.