01-30-2022, 02:38 AM
(01-29-2022, 07:51 PM)Bullseye Wrote: [ -> ](01-29-2022, 06:44 PM)Jagsfan4life9/28/82 Wrote: [ -> ]I'll add that one of those seasons the team had a 12-4 record and beat both teams that ended up in the Superbowl that year. I'm right with you on your analysis. Seems like he always drafted for need in the first round, then best available afterwards. And the results speak for themselves.I am unsure whether the disparity between first and 2nd round players can be explained purely by need vs BAP drafting, because CB and LB (Mathis and Smith) were needs when they were drafted in the second round. Considering the offense JDR was going to run, you could argue FB was a need, too. TE has perpetually been a need for this team, and he drafted Marcedes Lewis in the first round. He did actually make a Pro Bowl for us and wound up with a very long career. I tend to think his paradigm for WRs (big, long striders) was off somehow, or otherwise did not correctly evaluate their character, as both wound up developing substance abuse issues.
That said, I submit the prevailing theory entertained by many that Shack Harris made the first round picks while Gene SMith made the picks from rounds 2-7 is not borne out by the facts.. None of Gene Smith's picks came close to matching the picks from rounds 2-7 in the Shack era. From a talent perspective, Smith's best pick was Justin Blackmon. But Blackmon was so addled by substance dependence, it was impossible for him to have been a productive player for the Jaguars or anyone else. After that, I'd say maybe Eugene Monrow was Smith's best player, but he was an average to slightly above average LT, and certainly not the player at his position that MJD and Rashean Mathis were at their positions.
But we agree that, especially given the benefit of hindsight, Shack Harris remains under rated and under appreciated by the fans of this team, and you could argue this franchise has never recovered from his dismissal.
Fair points, though I'd say sometimes a team needing a lot of help certainly advances the perception of need based drafting. To counter, I'll offer MJD. We certainly didn't need a RB in 2006, but the player facing us in the second round was better than anyone left.
But yes, we're certainly on the same page in thinking Harris is far from one of this franchise's villains. Quite frankly, I'd take a return to that over what we have had to put up with for over a decade.
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