Who is Jalen Ramsey and what does his addition mean for the Jaguars?

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With the 5th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft the Jaguars selected Jalen Ramsey, the defensive back from Florida State. Why was he the pick and what will he do for the Jags?

By Jordan de Lugo

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Who is Jalen Ramsey?

Jalen Ramsey is a 21 year old defensive back from Florida State University. Originally from Tennessee, Ramsey couldn't turn down the opportunity to attend school and play football at FSU when coach Jimbo Fisher came knocking. In his time at FSU he achieved a great many things. Ramsey was the first freshman cornerback to start for FSU since Prime Time (Deion Sanders). He helped lead the team to a National Title as a sophomore and two ACC titles in his first two years on campus. In Ramsey's final season in Tallahassee he was named a consensus First Team All-American.

Why was he the pick at 5?

Ramsey has many attributes that combine to make him a rare talent. He stands 6'1'' and weighs in at 210 lbs. With a vertical of 41.5'' and arms that reach 33 3/8'' Ramsey can nearly double his height when he leaps. Despite being a bigger than average cornerback, Ramsey runs a 4.4 second 40 yard dash and shows incredible fluidity getting in and out of breaks. His freakish athletic ability and size would be more than enough for most teams to pull the trigger on Ramsey, but there's more. He is an alpha dog - He will bring leadership, swagger, and competitiveness. He also brings not only a willingness to tackle, but displays expectational ability to make big hits on receivers and running backs alike. He is the total package. 

How does he fit with the Jags?

The Ramsey to Jacksonville talk started a while ago, but at the beginning of this process most people liked him as a free safety for the Jags. Then the Jags signed Pro Bowler Tashaun Gipson to play free safety and the Ramsey talk cooled down, but it is my suspicion that the Jags always saw him as a cornerback who has the ability to be position versatile down the road. Ideally he would start his career in Jacksonville as an outside cornerback who can play press man coverage, but the Jaguars' nickel corner, Aaron Colvin, will serve a four game suspension to start the season which will give Ramsey a shot to play a ton inside from the get go. When Ramsey does get to the outside he has the ability and potential to become one of the very best man cover corners in the NFL and will fill that role with a swagger the likes of which Jaguar fans have never seen.