Quote:I continue to "hammer" Caldwell for the trade.


 

For the 2nd pick in the 2013 draft + Monroe we ended up with Joeckel, Colvin, and Chris Smith.


 

Had we kept Monroe we'd have had Monroe instead of Joeckel which I see as a wash, plus whatever we could have gotten with the #2 pick in place of Colvin and Smith.

If we didn't have the extra picks to play with from that trade and the Mike Thomas deal, we wouldn't have had the ammo to move up to get Robinson and Linder.

 

Could we have possibly traded 144 to move up for Robinson?  Sure, but then we wouldn't have Telvin Smith, who according to players, is among the top 100 players in the league.

 

Could we have traded pick 205 for Linder?  Doubtful.  We traded 105 and 179 to move up into the 3rd to get Linder.  205 would have cost NE (?) an extra 25 picks in value in the 6th round.

 

Had we not made that deal, here's how that great 2014 draft probably would have looked.

 

1-Bortles

2a-Lee

2b-Robinson

4-Colvin

6-Luke Bowanko

7. Storm Johnson

 

This reflects the trade for Robinson where we gave up 70 and 105 to move back into the 2nd round to get Robinson.  This again assumes the Jaguars have the same freedom to move up absent the extra 4 and 5 obtained for Monroe.

 

Had the Jaguars been less inclined to move up for Robinson without the extra picks to play with...

 

1.  Bortles

2.  Lee

3.  Linder

4. Colvin

5.  ???- Maybe Telvin Smith if he would have been on the board at 150 instead of 144 when he was taken.

 

 

Either way, keeping Monroe likely costs us at least one, maybe 2 key players from that great 2014 draft class.  Smith and Robinson were ranked in the NFL's top 100.  Not only that, but as of this year, we'd still have a hole at LT, a bigger contract, and minus 1-2 other key contributors.

 

But hey, maybe we don't need Robinson or Linder or Telvin Smith.

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