Quote:I know we've talked about all of these over the years and the Jaguars have had more than their share of doozies. I'm sure I missed a few, but I do believe this is a good representation of the worst. Which one is the worst for you?
For me, any trade up and miss scenario is going to be near the top of the list because of the additional damage trading up does. (Have we ever traded up and nailed it?) With that said, the trading up for Gabbert and missing out on MVP candidate and future HOFer J. J. Watt is the worst in my opinion. For a long time I thought it was the trade up for Derrick Harvey and that one was really bad as well, but as bad as Gabbert was on his own it's being made even worse with how good J.J. Watt is and exacerbated further by him being in our division.
Trading up for Blackmon with a decent QB in Tannehill and stud MLB in Kuechley still sitting there was pretty bad as well and they would have still been sitting there had we not traded up. Bleh.
The Matt Jones pick was terrible too with Aaron Rodgers still sitting there, but I can understand not going after Rodgers having just drafted Leftwich and thinking he was the guy at the time. I can't give a pass for taking a project WR in the 1st round though.
This thread needs to be checkmark, how can you possible pick just one of those horrendous blunders.
This is sad to read. Impossible to pick one.
Couldn't vote for one single one because that is a sad list. So I picked corn.
Quote:Not everbody remembers RJ, but that would be my pick.
Everyone remembers him. It might have been that pick that sunk Coughlin.
It was a terrible pick for multiple reasons, the least of which being that the Jaguars had no need for a player of his type.
What the Jaguars really needed was to get tougher, and the guy picked one slot later by the titans, Bulluck, would have worked great in that capacity.
Even worse is that if Coughlin really HAD to have a WR he could have taken Coles, who was a local guy, a round later and gotten a guy that had a pro bowl career instead of a guy that just wanted to get high.
The Harvey pick was by far the worst pick in Jags history. You could have stayed at 28 and picked Calais Campbell (who was even considered a better prospect!) Gabbert Made sense to trade up for, the other busts at least made sense, but you could have argued that the jags could have gotten Harvey outside the top ten. He was not considered a great prospect by anyone. He wasn't productive at Florida, he was tall and fast, and that was about it.
Matt Jones and Reggie Williams were not bad players. This Idea that they were colossal busts is a bit of an exaggeration. I do firmly believe that they didn't carry the work ethic (along with drug problems) caused them to play sub par. I mean the Jones pick was terrible since he was in the first round (he should have been a 3rd). Reggie Williams was a good prospect, he was a huge prototype WR that fit what the Jags wanted to do. They are a big reason the Jags started picking quire boys from christian colleges and the good kids.
Taking a punter in round 3 would have been acceptable if he was the best punter in league history. He isn't even considered in the top 5 of punters. The Jags completely gave up on that Draft class. After the draft and hearing the team interviews, you could tell they just picked kids with zero potential. It was a weak class after the first round, but they could have still come up with more than they did. You never draft specialty positions that high. Even if Wilson was still a backup you never heard of, that pick made no sense. They could have even traded it away for a player if they hated the prospects that much or trade away the pick for a 2013 selection.
Rodney Jay was a sad tale of a talented guy with a drug problem. He came off as a complainer, he even said it was bad that he was a 1st rounder because it was too much pressure.
Aaron Rodgers looked like an awful passer at Cal, he had a disgusting throwing motion and the Jags were still going with Leftwich, even though I disagree with how high they took him, passing on Rodgers is all hindsight. The Jags also avoided busts like Brady Quinn thankfully.
I feel like this with the Gabbert Pick, you always go for the QB over a DE. It made sense, Gabbert looked the part. Although it should have raised flags when SF passed on him. JJ Watt just burns because he was picked by Houston and I everyone loved him coming in, whats funny is that many though Watt was a late 1st rounder.
From what I know about Irsay, I wouldn't put it past him to say he tanked that season the minute he signed Collins. There is no way that the Colts were so awful that they lose 1 player and the team doesn't win more than 2 games. I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but if anyone were to do something shady/sneaky. It would be Jim Irsay.
Here's the thing, the Jags are going to miss out on several players in the 2015 draft. It's been said over and over that you can take any draft and look at the guys you missed on. For every Andrew Luck, there are 5 Blaine Gabberts and every JJ Watt there are 5 Derrick Harveys. These guys come and go so quickly and that's why it's such a harsh business. but looking at the strings of poor draft decisions is a direct correlation as to why Jacksonville is still picking in the top 5 for the 3rd straight season. the Jags are long overdue for a homerun.
another point on Rodgers, wasn't Kyle Boller considered a better prospect than Rodgers? I remember the videos of Boller throwing 70 yards from his knee and stuff like that. Cal produced system QB's like Boller and Rodgers every season. They never translated to the NFL so I don't remember him being a must have after you looked deeper at him. Rodgers is an exception to the Rule. Prospects like Rodgers fail 9 times of 10. Rodgers was the 10th one. It's no excuse for picking a QB turned WR based on a few highlight catches and a good 40 time
Quote:another point on Rodgers, wasn't Kyle Boller considered a better prospect than Rodgers? I remember the videos of Boller throwing 70 yards from his knee and stuff like that. Cal produced system QB's like Boller and Rodgers every season. They never translated to the NFL so I don't remember him being a must have after you looked deeper at him. Rodgers is an exception to the Rule. Prospects like Rodgers fail 9 times of 10. Rodgers was the 10th one. It's no excuse for picking a QB turned WR based on a few highlight catches and a good 40 time
Yes, Rodgers was thought to be a guy who benefited from a system coming out, which is likely why he fell so near the end of the first round.
It's a GM's job to recognize talent, and it's quite the indictment that so many of them couldn't in his case.
I have to pick Derrick Harvey. He got $17 million guaranteed and held out for most of training camp as a rookie. He got 7 sacks in 3 seasons without injuries IIRC. He played a few games in Denver with no production.
R.J. Soward was a close second for me but he was selected #29 and we didn't have to give up anything to move up as we did with Harvey.
Regards.....................the Chiefjag
It's really a shame the Jags haven't taken advantage of the rookie wage scale by drafting home runs in the 1st round. Having picks so high and not having to pay them $50-$70 million contracts provides such a potential advantage, but so far, for a variety of reasons, the team hasn't made good on it. Look at the Lions hitting on Stafford, CJ and Suh - all good to great picks, but all with cap hits over $20 million. I don't think they can keep them all despite doing everything right in taking them. The Jags wouldn't face that quandry.
Hopefully next season Blackmon can return and be productive, and Luke and Blake take big steps. There's still hope. But it would be a huge advantage wasted if things don't turn out well.
How on Earth does this one only have 15% of the votes???
"Taking college QB Matt Jones in the 1st round in 2005 and making him a WR a position he has not previously played. Oh yeah and Aaron Rodgers is taken 3 picks later."
Quote:How on Earth does this one only have 15% of the votes???
"Taking college QB Matt Jones in the 1st round in 2005 and making him a WR a position he has not previously played. Oh yeah and Aaron Rodgers is taken 3 picks later."
Are you saying they should have tried to convert Aaron Rodgers to a wide receiver instead of Matt Jones?
Quote:How on Earth does this one only have 15% of the votes???
"Taking college QB Matt Jones in the 1st round in 2005 and making him a WR a position he has not previously played. Oh yeah and Aaron Rodgers is taken 3 picks later."
You answered that yourself earlier in this thread. That's the 100% hindsight pick, but not the biggest at the time mistake. And that's assuming that Rodgers would have developed into the same QB had he been coached by the Jags instead of Green Bay.
Quote:I have to pick Derrick Harvey. He got $17 million guaranteed and held out for most of training camp as a rookie. He got 7 sacks in 3 seasons without injuries IIRC. He played a few games in Denver with no production.
R.J. Soward was a close second for me but he was selected #29 and we didn't have to give up anything to move up as we did with Harvey.
Regards.....................the Chiefjag
It's really kind'a depressing when you think about all the busts... no, not just busts; the c o l o s s a l draft flops we've experienced here.
Jaguars passed on Darren Sproles in 2005... to take Alvin Pearman
Quote:Jaguars passed on Darren Sproles in 2005... to take Alvin Pearman
Darren Sproles is better than Pearman; HOWEVER, he's not an every down back. He's a speedster who rarely breaks off big plays.
Letting Gene Smith make the picks, to be honest.
Trading a future 2nd for Derek Cox in the 3rd is up there though. I mean Cox had his moments, but... still. Trading that future 2nd to make a 3rd round pick... I hope Caldwell never makes a move like that. I hate trading future higher round picks, for current lower round picks. Unless a team is making a Super Bowl run, and on their last legs.
Quote:Jaguars passed on Darren Sproles in 2005... to take Alvin Pearman
Meh. Sproles is a niche player and has always had a talented QB (or fast-paced system ala Philly) around him. I don't see him as a big loss.
How can it be anything other than Gabbert? Trading up for and selecting one of the worst QBs in NFL history that basically put the finishing touches on the regime in charge and even the ownership. Not even mentioning the fact that Watt was the pick after that.
Quote:Darren Sproles is better than Pearman; HOWEVER, he's not an every down back. He's a speedster who rarely breaks off big plays.
Darren Sproles has never been a feature back