JAGUARS DRAFT GRADES: ROUNDS 1-5

A Recap of the Jaguars Draft Picks in Rounds 1-5

Dante Fowler Jr. 6’3’’, 261 lbs
Highly Explosive LEO prospect. Fowler Has the raw talent and potential to become a very good pass rusher, as do many of the highly touted pass rushers from this years draft. What stands out about Fowler is his ability to give 100% effort play after play, whether it be in practice or in games. He has a knack for making big plays at crucial moments, and always has a good time on the field. His enthusiasm for the game rubs off on his team mates. With Telvin Smith and Dante Fowler on the same side of the ball, look for the Jags 2015 defense to be have extremely high energy. Fans should expect Fowler to make an immediate impact. 

Grade: A-

T.J. Yeldon  6’1’’, 226 lbs
An underrated back in this class. Has all the tools that it takes to be a good back in the NFL. Speed, Patience, vision, good feet, lateral quickness, ability to make plays out of the backfield. and is always falling forward after contact. There were two concerns about him coming into the draft. He lost a number of fumbles in college, which the Jags think they can fix, and his “upright” running style. Many analysts claim that he runs to upright but Coach Bradley thinks he has excellent pad level. Jaguars fans should expect Yeldon to be the day 1 starter for this team. While he will likely start, this does not mean he will get all the carries. Denard Robinson, and even Toby Gerhart to a certain extent, will get touches. 

Grade: A

A.J. Cann 6'3'', 313 lbs
When it comes to draft talk, guards and centers aren't often “highly coveted”, but when the Jags saw the opportunity to get A.J. Cann in the third round, they ran to the podium. He is a very athletic guard prospect, who missed only one game in his entire college career. He does not have great size, but he makes up for the lack of size with his athleticism. He needs to learn how use his weight properly. Despite some of his issues, he is an extremely talented player, who likely should have gone earlier in the draft. Jags fans should expect him to push Zane Beadles for the starting Left Guard spot, and at the very least to provide even more depth to an offensive line group that is starting to look very deep. 

Grade: B+

James Sample 6'2'', 209lbs
A physical player, who lays the wood. He has size and speed. His major flaw is that he has very little experience actually playing in games. In college he transferred from Washington to American River Junior College to Louisville. In his one season at Louisville, he was very impressive. He posted 90 tackles and added four interceptions. He should be able to compete for playing time with Sergio Brown and Josh Evans at the FS spot. 

Grade: B+

Rashad Greene 5'11'', 182 lbs
The Jaguars said they wanted to get more weapons for Blake Bortles, with this pick they certainly did that. Rashad Greene is one of the best receivers to ever step on the field for FSU. Coming into the 2014 College football season, he was regarded as one of the top prospects at WR. The emergence of players like Kevin White, Jaelyn Strong, and Davante Parker pushed the smaller Rashad Greene down draft boards. Luckily for the Jags, he fell all the way to the fifth round. He is exactly what the Jaguars needed, a slot receiver. Greene’s biggest issue is his lack of size, weighing in at only 182 pounds, the Jags will certainly look to get him on a weight program. Jags fans should expect Greene to compete for the starting job in the slot and also compete to be the kick/punt returner.

Grade: A