FBG Board Consensus 2010 Mock NFL Draft (1 Viewer)

1.01 St. Louis Rams select QB Sam Bradford (83% of the vote)

1.02 Detroit Lions select DT Ndamukong Suh (59% of the vote)

1.03 Tampa Bay Buccaneers select DT Gerald McCoy (85% of the vote)

1.04 Washington Redskins select OT Russell Okung (73% of the vote)

1.05 Kansas City Chiefs select S Eric Berry (41% of the vote)

1.06 Seattle Seahawks select OT Trent Williams (41% of the vote)

1.07 Cleveland Browns select QB Jimmy Clausen (28% of the vote)

1.08 Oakland Raiders select OT Bryan Bulaga (23% of the vote)

1.09 Buffalo Bills select OT Anthony Davis (61% of the vote)

Jacksonville Jaguars

Positions of Need (as per NFL.com)

LB, S, QB, DL

Needs Analysis: Jacksonville is a team struggling to sell tickets and has a coach in some turmoil. Making short-term decisions vs. what is good for the club in the long run is always a challenge in these situations. Defensive end Aaron Kampman was signed quickly in free agency for big money. The Jags need him healthy for 16 games and they also need his leadership with the younger players. That's a lot to ask of a guy coming off a major injury. The long-range QB issue looms and the politics of picking Tim Tebow, a hometown favorite, could drive draft decisions. The Jags played more rookies than any team in the league last season, and seemed oblivious to the criticism that their inexperience might have hurt the team. Jacksonville doesn't expect to go so young in 2010, but it promises to be active on draft day, nevertheless.

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/04/08/2010-nf...0-jacksonville/

2010 NFL Mock Draft, Fans' Picks Edition: No. 10 - Jacksonville Jaguars

Knox Bardeen

The Jacksonville Jaguars have three immediate needs in the 2010 draft, and they all lie on the defensive side of the football.

The Jaguars had a miserable time at putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. They tallied an NFL-worst 14 sacks in 2009, and to put that into perspective, two players -- Elvis Dumervil and Jared Allen -- actually had more sacks themselves than the entire Jacksonville team. The Jaguars have suffered from two recent bust picks at defensive end, forcing the team to focus on the exterior of the defensive line again.

Whether it's a drop-off in skills or just a poor showing of tackling from safety Reggie Nelson, his play has caused concern for the Jaguars, too, and they may also take a look at a safety here. The other options on the roster aren't exactly Pro-Bowl material, and an upgrade at safety would be pleasant.

The third area of concern in Jacksonville in at outside linebacker. Daryl Smith and Justin Durant are cemented in at linebacker, but the team could use an outside guy with speed to attack or drop into coverage.

With a final caveat, it's worth mentioning that Tim Tebow is climbing in recent mock drafts -- even into the first round. As nice as it would be to add a hometown kid to the roster, especially to help fill empty seats, there are more pressing needs than quarterback to fill with the tenth pick in this draft. So maybe the fans did Jacksonville a favor by sending Tebow to Oakland in this mock.

Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech: I know that I said that the Jaguars needed help with their pass rush -- and he will definitely bolster that aspect of the defense -- but Morgan also lends help against the run. Morgan is one of the best pass-rushers in the draft, and he can also drop into coverage if needed. This kind of versatility will be a boon for the Jaguars.

Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, USF: Pierre-Paul has the size and strength to battle up front with anyone, at any level, right now. His speed to the quarterback is uncanny and his upside is as high as any exterior lineman in the draft. He's not nearly as polished as Morgan, since he doesn't have the numbers of years at the college level under his belt, which makes him a lesser choice here for a team that may be looking to draft a safe pick.

Earl Thomas, S, Texas: The Jaguars could use a mentally ready, athletic free safety with ball hawking skills galore. Thomas would be a natural fit here to fill the glaring void at safety and respond to the doubters around who feel Reggie Nelson is turning into a bust.

Rolando McLain, LB, Alabama: What's not to like about McClain? He's a great tackler, has leadership instincts that will allow him to start from day one, and he's a great thinking linebacker. He's also the top rated inside linebacker in this draft, which could be his downfall witht he Jaguars. Jacksonville is in dire need of an outside linebacker, but could reach here to McClain since he's the best at his position and is ready for NFL play now.

Went with Morgan. I believe the Jaguars had 14 sacks last year as a team. I'm not buying into the Tebow hype here as I think much of the JAC coaching staff and probably the front office is on the hot seat - they don't have the luxury of taking a 2-3 year project here, they need to show drastic improvement ASAP, and the best way to do that right now is to improve on their horrible pass rush.

I went with Joe Haden here. He looks to be the best available player at a premium position. The Jaguars have so many needs to fill that taking the supposed top rated guy available would be a wise decision. However, Gene Smith has previously stated that he wants to build both lines up, so I can easily envision Dan Williams being drafted here. Realistically, at this point I'd hope for a trade down, though.

The Jaguars are in a great position in that they can take the best player available on their draft board and fill a critical need on defense. This year is regarded as a quality draft for defensive talent.

They could go for a top defensive lineman, even with the addition of Aaron Kampman. They could go linebacker, as they need help at that position. The secondary needs help, as they also need more talent at corner and safety.

Derrick Morgan seems like too good of a value to pass up. With C Johnson, MJD and balanced running attacks in Indy and Houston they need to have solid line play. They are going back to the 4-3 and Morgan will be an anchor for years to come.

McClain is still the best player on the board and if he falls to 10 I'd be shocked if Jacksonville didn't jump on him.

With the 1.10 pick of the FBG Consensus draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select ILB Rolando McClain

from the bleacher report:

2010 NFL Draft: Rolando McClain Fits Jacksonville Jaguars' Redesign

by Jack Harver

Most speculation in the weeks leading up to April's 2010 NFL Draft will revolve around value boards and teams' needs, with analysts ranking prospects in search of the "best player available" and probing holes in depth charts for clues.

For the Jacksonville Jaguars, though, one of their best options with the draft's 10th overall pick—Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain—might not fit either of those methods, despite having a consensus first-round grade.

Firstly, McClain doesn't have much positional value. Just ask James Laurinaitis or Rey Maualuga, accomplished collegians and two of last year's top-ranked middle linebackers. On draft day, both slid into the second round, passed over for a slew of down linemen and offensive weapons.

Even Aaron Curry, perhaps 2009's most promising prospect, fell a few spots to the Seattle Seahawks' fourth overall pick. By and large, teams aren't fighting over players who don't impact the passing game on every down anymore.

At 6'3" and 254 pounds, McClain doesn't face concerns about his size as Laurinaitis did. Despite running the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds at Alabama's March 10 pro day, questions linger about his ability to have a sideline-to-sideline presence—the same knock that helped push Maualuga out of the first round.

With pass rushers Jason Pierre-Paul (USF) and Derrick Morgan (Georgia Tech) likely available for Jacksonville, as well as the possibility of Florida cornerback Joe Haden, McClain doesn't figure to be pundits' top-rated choice when the Jaguars go on the clock.

Looking over their depth chart, a linebacking corps of veteran Daryl Smith and young guns Justin Durant and Clint Ingram doesn't seem weak enough to justify a reach.

Why, then, should Jacksonville even consider McClain, much less use a top-10 pick to get him? Simply put—and sweeping aside the two clichéd approaches to drafting—he's everything the Jaguars want their football team to become.

Last year, in his first draft having final say, three of new general manager Gene Smith's first four picks were team-elected captains in college.

"To me that's very important, what their peers think of them," Smith told ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky.

"I think that tells a lot about how they conduct [their] business."

As the play-caller and leader for college football's second-ranked defense in 2009, McClain certainly meets that requirement. Far from suggesting that a rookie should step up to lead a group of NFL veterans, Smith's esteem for college captains reflects the Jaguars' goal of having as many smart, vocal starters as possible.

In 2010, Jacksonville must also become a better-tackling team. The Jaguars were heavily criticized for poor defensive fundamentals, particularly after lackluster performances in early-season losses to the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans.

Enter McClain, perhaps this year's most hard-hitting prospect with picture-perfect technique. Even the most determined antagonist would be hard-pressed to find film or a scouting report to criticize McClain's pursuit angles, power, or wrap-up form.

There's nothing quite like putting players' jobs on the line against a first-round pick to show real commitment to addressing that issue.

Should Jacksonville choose to bring McClain on board, of course, Smith and head coach Jack Del Rio will be tasked with sorting out his place on a crowded depth chart. After sifting through an offensive tackle situation involving five potential starters at two spots in 2009, though, picking three linebackers from four shouldn't be too tough.

Rather than letting depth chart difficulties cloud their judgment, Jacksonville's brain trust could once again pick the rookie who fits the Jaguars' brand of football.