Jaguars Franchise Part II: the Offseason - Gronk4M13's Blog

Gronk4M13's Blog

Jaguars Franchise Part II: the Offseason

Posted on July 17, 2012 at 05:56 PM.

(0)

After winning Superbowl 49, former Vikings Ryan Longwell and Steve Hutchinson both hung up their cleats, and joined Kareem McKenzie, as well as Rasean Mathis on the Jaguar's retired list. Heading into scouting, free agency, and the draft, the Superbowl champions team needs were:

Center
Left Guard
Left Tackle
Defensive Ends
Wide Receivers
Linebackers
Cornerbacks
Free Safeties
Kicker

In Free Agency, the Jaguars signed former Charger wideout Vincent Jackson, former Raven receiver Torrey Smith, former Titan kicker Rob Bironas, former Charger linebacker Shaun Phillips, former Packer linebacker AJ Hawk, former Raven all star line backer Ray Lewis, cornerback Marcus Gilchrist, and former Seahawk free safety all star Earl Thomas. In the eyes of many analysts, Suggs and Thomas will immediately make the Jaguars' defense a powerhouse and Jackson/Smith will both strengthen the receiving corps.

In the draft, Jacksonville took South Carolina cornerback Ronald Mathis with the 32nd overall pick [72 overall, C potential.] The Jaguars used their third round pick on Baylor quarterback Jarrett Cabot [74 overall, B potential.] Wanting to upgrade their offensive line,the Jags drafted Cent. Conn. State right tackle Jarman Branch [67 overall, C potential/] In round 7, the Jaguars wanted even more depth at quarterback, and drafted UCLA's Jaelin Craig [70 overall, A potential.] After the draft, Head Coach Gronk reordered the depth chart, and realized that Craig would barely play at quarterback, seeing that Raymond O' Neal, Blaine Gabbert, and Jarrett cabot all provided satisfactory depth at the position. After watching Craig practice, Grink realized what a talent he had on his hands, and didn't want to waste him. Therefore, Craig was moved to second string halfback to back up all star Maurice Jones Drew. [Craig's stats are 89 speed, 93 elusiveness, 76 stiff arm, 79 spin, 90 juke, and 75 carry.]

The Depth Chart
Quarterback
1. Raymond O'Neal[97 overall, former second round pick in 2013]
2. Blaine Gabbert [ a position battle is definitely at hand because Gabbert won the AFC championship game as well as the Superbowl.]

Halfback
1. Maurice Jones Drew
2. Jaelin Craig (Lynch and MoJo and aging, so Craig will see a lot of second half action, especially if the Jags have the lead.
3. Marshawn Lynch
Fullback
Ovie Mughelli
Wide Receiver
1. Vincent Jackson
2. Torrey Smith
3. Carl Clements [97 speed, 99 acceleration and agility; lethal on deep routes. 2012 1st round pick]
4. Greg Salas
Austin Collie
Tight End
1. Patrick Bell [ 1st round pick 2013, injured 1st play in Superbowl]
2. Owen Daniels

[Skipped offensive line. Nothing special. Nobody in the 90's overall wise. All 85 or lower.]

Left End
Darnell Dockett
Shaydon Bucannon (first round pick, 2014)

Right End
Mike Wright

Defensive Tackle
Tyson Alualu
Terrence Knighton
Tony Brown
Both Alualu and Knighton were injured most of last season, and missed the Superbowl. Both regressed to high 80's or very low 90's overall.

Left Outside Linebacker
Shaun Phillips
Anthony Spencer (Superbowl XLIX MVP for fumble recovery touchdown)
Middle Linebacker
AJ Hawk
Johnathan Vilma
Right Linebacker
Terell Suggs

Cornerback
Marcus Gilchrist
Brandon Carr
J'Neddy Monroe (3rd round pick 2014)
Cedric Griffin
Ronald Mathis (1st round pick 2015)

Safety
Earl Thomas
Nate Allen

Strong Safety
LC Morris (2nd round pick 2012, made many key plays last post season, including swatting Michael Vick's 4th down pass in Superbowl 49, winning the game for us)
Kicker- Rob Bironas
Punter- Mike Scifres