[SUP]Jacksonville Jaguars[/SUP] Total Salary: $84,978,100 Quarterback (Total Position Salary $8,354,400) Peyton Manning, QB, $7,400,000 Blaine Gabbert, QB, $954,400 Running Back (Total Position Salary $7,115,000) Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, $4,450,000 Rashad Jennings, RB, $565,000 Ovie Mughelli, FB, $1,500,000 Montell Owens, FB, $300,000 Jerious Norwood, RB, $300,000 Wide Receiver (Total Position Salary $14,201,000) Reggie Wayne, WR, $9,521,000.00 Malcolm Floyd, WR, $3,000,000 Mike Thomas, WR, $565,000 Cecil Shorts, WR, $465,000 Kassim Osgood, WR, $300,000 Ryan Broyles (R), WR, $350,000 Tight End (Total Position Salary $_(2,559,000) Brent Celek, TE, $1,909,000 Leonard Pope, TE, $300,000 Brian Linthicum, TE, $350,000 Offensive Line (Total Position Salary $8,585,000) Eugene Monroe, LT, $1,682,500 Uche Nwaneri, RG, $849,000 Jammal Brown, RT, $3,000,000 Montrale Holland, OG, $300,000 Sean Locklear, OT, $500,000 Mike Iupati, OG, $703,500 Brett Romberg, C, $300,000 Brad Meester, C, $500,000 Cameron Bradfield, OT, $300,000 Brandon Brooks (R), OG, $450,000 Defensive Line (Total Position Salary $13,442,500) Terrance Knighton, DT, $565,000 Tyson Alualu, DT, $1,212,500 Osi Umenyiora, DE, $3,975,000 Lawrence Sidbury, DE, $565,000 C.J. Mosley, DT, $300,000 Justin Smith, DE, $5,875,000 John Chick, DE, $300,000 Mike Martin (R), DT, $350,000 James Hall, DE, $300,000 Linebackers (Total Position Salary $11,140,000) Daryl Smith, LB, $4,700,000 Keith Rivers, LB, $1,660,000 Stephen Nichols, LB, $1,500,000 Thomas Howard, LB, $2,500,000 Kelvin Shepard, LB, $480,000 Kirk Morrison, LB, $300,000 Defensive Backs (Total Position Salary $17,030,000) Derek Cox, CB, $565,000 Dawan Landry, SS, $4,125,000 Nate Allen, FS, $540,000 Asante Samuel, CB, $8,400,000 Terrence McGee, NB, $1,500,000 Drew Coleman, DB, $350,000 Sean Jones, S, $300,000 Lito Sheppard, CB, $300,000 Chris Prosinski, S, $300,000 Jordan Babineaux, S, $650,000 Kicker/Punter (Total Position Salary $2,551,200.00) Josh Scobee, K, 2,251,200.00 Nick Harris, P, $300,000
Free Agents CC Brown, DB, UFA Courtney Greene, DB, RFA David Jones, DB, UFA Dwight Lowery, DB, UFA Rashean Mathis , DB, UFA William Middleton, DB, RFA CJ Mosley, DL, UFA Jeremy Mincey, DE, UFA Leger Douzable, DT, RFA Matt Roth, DE, UFA Josh Scobee, K UFA Nick Harris, P, UFA Russell Allen, LB, RFA Guy Whimper, OL, UFA William Robinson, OL, RFA Luke McCown, QB, UFA Nate Collins, DL, ERFA Brock Bolen, RB, ERFA Martin Rucker, TE, ERFA Zach Potter, TE, ERFA
Trade and Cuts -Jaguars trade 2nd round pick and WR Jarrett Dillard to Colts for QB Peyton Manning -Jaguars trade 5th round pick to Eagles for CB/S Nate Allen -Jaguars trade TE Marcedes Lewis to Bills for 3rd round pick -Jaguars trade DT D'Anthony Smith to Cowboys for 5th round pick -Jaguars trade 6th round (166) and 7th round (199) pick to Broncos for RB Willis McGahee -Jaguars trade 4th round (No. 102) to Chargers for WR Malcolm Floyd -Jaguars trade LB Clint Session to 49ers for 3rd round pick (94 overall) and WR Kyle Williams -Jaguars trade 5th round (145 (Dallas)) and G Jason Spitz to Cincinnati Bengals for LB Thomas Howard. -Jaguars trade 3rd (No. 94, San Francisco) to New York Jets for CB Asante Samuel -Jaguars trade 1st (No. 7) to Philadelphia Eagles for TE Brent Celek, 1st (No. 23) and 3rd (No. 66) -Jaguars trade LB Paul Posluszny, two 3rds (66 and 71) to New York Giants for Osi Umenyiora, 2nd (No. 64), 4th (No. 128) and 6th (No. 192) -Jaguars trade OL Eben Britton, RB Willis McGahee and 6th (No. 192) to Atlanta Falcons for DE Lawrence Sidbury, 3rd (No. 86) 4th (No. 497) and 5th (No. 150) -Jaguars trade 3rd (No.72) to Indianapolis Colts for WR Reggie Wayne -Jaguars trade 2nd (No. 64) and 4th (No. 128) to Buffalo Bills for LB Kelvin Sheppard -Jaguars trade No. 1 (1.23) for DE Justin Smith, LG Mikue Iupati and 3rd (3. 94) -Jaguars trade No. 3 (86) and No.5 (150) to Bengals for LB Keith Rivers and 4th (4. 121) Recent Cuts Taylor Price, WR, $490,000 Brian Robiskie, WR, $565,000 Chastin West, WR, $465,000 Jeremy Cain, OL, $850,000 Kevin Haslam, OL, $490,000 John Estes, OL $490,000 Aaron Morgan, DE, $490,000 Spencer Lanning, P, $435,000 Kevin Rutland, DB, $465,000 Ashton Youboty, DB, $700,000 Montrell Owens, RB, $1,000,000 Austen Lane, DE, $490,000 Drew Coleman, DB, $2,516,000 Trent Morgan, CB, $465,000 Kyle Bosworth, LB, $490,000 Nick Harris, P, $300,000 Rod Issac, CB, $465,000 Brad Meester, C, $2,500,000 Deji Karim, RB, $490,000 Thomas Howard, LB, $3,000,000 Kirk Morrison, LB, $300,000 Will Rackley, LG, $465,000 Cameron Bradfield, RT, $465,000 John Chick, DE, $465,000 Zach Miller, TE, $565,000 Chris Prosinski, FS, $465,000 Robert Geathers, DE/DT, $300,000
Draft Picks 3.94 - Brandon Brooks, OG, Miami (Ohio) - 76th in real draft 4.97 - Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma - 54th in real draft 4.121 -Mike Martin, DT, Michigan -82nd in real draft
Final Team Write Up First off, thanks to everyone for having me. I know I’m not a board regular, so I appreciate the opportunity to participate. This was definitely a good time and I hope to be part of the GM League next year. Opening Statement: Let me be clear. Winning the Rookie of the Year award would be awesome and a great honor, but I entered the league to win the whole thing. With a look at the roster I started with and the one I ended with, I feel confident that I should be in contention for GM of the Year. When UCF FINatic first asked me to join the league, he told me that running the Jaguars would be an uphill battle. As a Jacksonville fan, I was all too aware of the challenges that were ahead of me: The league’s worst offense with gaping holes across the depth chart, a poor a coaching staff and the reputation that comes with a disinterested fan base in a small media market. Basically, it was a gig that no one wanted. My hope is that my inexperience on this league and Jacksonville’s obscurity do not hurt me during voting. Not knowing the ins and out of the league and how things went, I asked my friend and football aficionado Ashy Larry to help me with personnel decisions. We deiced that there were five goals we needed to accomplish to have a shot of winning GM of the Year: 1.) Bring in a proven quarterback to immediately upgrade the NFL’s worse passing attack. Just as important, we wanted someone that could mentor Blaine Gabbert and give the promising but often flustered youngster time to learn (a la Aaron Rogers in Green Bay, without the Brett Favre drama.) 2.) Hire a proficient offensive coach that could mold quarterbacks and run a well-balanced offense. 3.) Add a primary and secondary receiver. 4.) Keep a strong defense (ranked No. 6 in the NFL, which is amazing considering the No. 32 offense) intact while upgrading our defensive ends and overall depth. 5.) Finally, we wanted to turn the team into a contender while not completely mortgaging our long-term future. I will expound upon these objectives at the end of my post. I will say this: using a stat-based philosophy—blended with a conscious effort to consider chemistry and find players that fit specific roles—we cut the fat, built around our strengths and achieved all of our goals. Offense (starters are in bold) Quarterback QB - Peyton Manning ($7,400,000) – Doctors have written off injury risk. The only concern is his arm strength. With multiple playoff teams bidding on the future HOF QB this offseason, we feel that he should be at or close to full strength. Backups QB - Blaine Gabbert ($954,400) – Putrid rookie season cannot be ignored, but he did display physical tools to be an NFL QB. Time behind Manning (and competent WRs) will do a world of good. Running Back/ Fullback RB - Maurice Jones-Drew ($4,450,000) – NFL’s leading rusher in 2011 and No. 2 RB by Pro Football Focus. Nuff said. FB – Ovie Mughelli ($1,500,000) – MCL tear in Week 7 ended 2011 season, but it’s an easy injury to overcome. Prior to that, Mughelli was ranked the No.1 FB in 2009 and 2010 by PFF. Backups RB - Rashad Jennings ($565,000) – Was on IR in 2011 but didn’t require knee surgery, so he should be ready to build off of his 2010 campaign (84 rushes, 459 yards). RB - Jerious Norwood ($300,000) – As our third RB, we’re hoping he can regain some of his success from ATL days. FB - Montell Owens ($300,000) – Excellent special teams player brings value as a RB/FB too. Wide Receivers Z - Reggie Wayne ($9,521,000) – Don’t write him off yet. He was targeted less without Peyton at QB last year but dropped only two passes, proving he’s as consistent as ever. Pairing back up with Manning, we should see him back in the 1,000-yard club again. X - Malcom Floyd ($3,000,000) – Floyd was a big snag for us, giving Manning a big (6-5, 225), productive (856 yards, 5 TDs in 11 games) target to go next to Wayne. Averaged 4.5 yards per pass route, giving him one of the best totals in the NFL. Y(SL) - Mike Thomas ($565,000) – Finally, Thomas can move to the slot where he best belongs. His quickness and ability to get open on underneath patterns will be a huge asset to our QBs as they develop chemistry within the offense. Backups WR - Cecil Shorts ($465,000) – The rookies struggled last year but we’ll hold on to him for the year and try to utilize his quickness in the slot. WR - Kassim Osgood ($300,000) – Pro Bowl special teams player adds solid depth. WR - Ryan Broyles (R) ($350,000) – Coming off an ACL injury, he might be ready to go my midseason. A top-three talent at WR in this draft if he wasn’t hurt. Reminds us a little of Marvin Harrison. Tight End TE - Brent Celek ($1,909,000) – Andy Reid and Peyton Manning love using their tight ends, so expectations are high for Celek in our offense. He played in all 16 games last year, despite a sports hernia and torn labrum, so the dude is tough. Logged 53 catches, 738 rec yards and 5 TDs in last 11 games of 2011 season. Backups TE - Leonard Pope ($300,000) – A strong blocker with excellent size (6-8, 265) and enough receiving skills to matter (200+ yards last year) as a second TE. TE – Brian Linthicum ($350,000) – A late pick (not taken by me, sorry guys), he has potential as a receiving tight end. Good hands, good initial burst off the line. Offensive Line LT – Eugene Monroe ($1,682,500) – Graded out as a top 15 LT last year and at 25 years-old, he’s still not in the prime of his career. Definitely a cornerstone for our offensive line. LG – Mike Iupati ($703,500) – A top six OG in terms of run blocking last year. At 24, him and Monroe will likely give the Jaguars one of, if not the, best LT/LG combo in the NFL over the next several seasons. C – Brad Meester ($500,000) – Seasoned veteran is still playing at a high level and adds consistency to the offense. RG – Uche Nwaneri ($849,000) – One of the few bright spots for the Jaguars’ offense last year, he was ranked as one of the NFL’s top RGs last year. RT – Jammal Brown ($3,000,000) – Has taken yoga this offseason to improve flexibility and break up scar tissue from left hip injuries. If he can get back to old form, he’ll solidify a very good offensive line. Backups LT - Cameron Bradfield ($300,000) – Really showed glimpses as a rookie last season (+2.8 grade by PFF). He’ll provide excellent depth behind Monroe and could get a shot at starting RT. LG – Brandon Brooks (R), ($450,000) – Brooks was good value for us in the third round. With a lot of experience and good fundamental skills all around, he seems to have a bright future. C – Brett Romberg ($300,000) – A former starter, he gives us experience and a safety blanket incase anything were to happen to Meester. RG - Montrae Holland ($300,000) – Torn bicep injury ended a stellar (+8 grade by PFF) 2011 season. Easily a starter when healthy. RT – Sean Locklear ($500,000) – Excellent pass blocker but marginal run blocker. With an aging Manning at QB, his pass-pro skills will come in handy. Also has the ability to play LT. Philosophy: With Andy Reid as our head coach and proven quarterback guru (and Reid disciple) as the signal caller, the Jaguars’ offense will be predicated on much of what has made Reid’s offense so successful this past decade. Obviously with Manning at the helm, the West Coast offense must be adapted some. We will utilize the fast-paced system that Manning is accustomed to, but will implement the 3-5-step drops and quick throws that make the West Coast offense work, with just less rollouts. With Maurice Jones-Drew as our top RB and pass-catching TE Brent Celek in the mix, we will rely heavily on play-action passes and look methodically pick teams apart with short gains before taking shots down field. QB: As stated, we wanted to get a proven veteran to mentor Gabbert. We got that with Manning, a future HOF who still is a game-changer. He improves our offense drastically. His addition alone probably takes the team from 32 to 15. RB/FB: MJD will be the focal point of the offense, but getting Jennings touches to relieve the All Pro is important for MJD’s longevity. At FB, we liked Greg Jones, but Mughelli was a top FB while Jones was Top 5, and Mughelli was twice as cheap. Owens has versatility as RB, FB and STs player. WR: The worst WR corps in the NFL got a major upgrade in Wayne and Floyd. Both are capable No. 1s in this league and can get it done on short, intermediate and deep patterns. Getting Thomas to the slot increases his value significantly. He can do a lot of damage there. Everyone fits their role to a tee. TE: This will be a position we rely on heavily and we’re fortunate to have an extremely productive, capable pass catcher in Celek. He will open things up a ton for our offense. He is twice as cheap as Marcedes Lewis, who checked out last year after signing a big contract. OL: We didn’t need too much of an upgrade here aside from LG and RT. LG Will Rackley was horrible as a rookie (-35.00 rating by PFF) and RT Guy Whimper was in the negative too. Iupati strengthens left side significantly at was basically our first-round pick. Brown is a wildcard at RT and a very good player if healthy. If not, we have several options to replace him and feel good about the depth there. Plus, anyone is better than Rackley. Defense (starters are in bold) Defensive Line RE - Osi Umenyiora ($3,975,000) – Finally, the Jaguars get their much-needed pass rusher (9 sacks in 9 games last year.) He was a top 15 pass-rusher according to PFF’s Pass Rusher Productivity stat. Consistent pass-rusher throughout his career. DT – Tyson Alualu ($1,212,500) – Nagging injuries led to a sophomore slump after a strong rookie year. Mosley and Martin will push him. DT - Terrance Knighton ($565,000) – “Pot Roast” is a dominant run-stuffer, spearheading a Jacksonville run defense that finished in the top 10 of the NFL last year. Conditioning has been an issue, so we’re hoping that Martin will push him as well. LE - Justin Smith ($5,875,000) – Smith is excellent against the run and solidifies our defensive front. Has the versatility to play inside as well. Considered an MVP candidate by PFF. Backups RE - Lawrence Sidbury ($565,000) – Finished with four sacks last year and should allow us to get creative on passing downs. Really finished the year strong, getting pressure on the QB on around 17 percent of his pass rushes in second-half of the season. DT - Mike Martin (R) ( $350,000) – High-motor rookie has experience playing nose tackle in college. With 37 starts in his collegiate career, he’s ready to jump into the DT rotation. DT - C.J. Mosley ($300,000) – Really stepped up for injured DTs last year (323 snaps last season, including three starts), so we brought him back at a great value. Solid run-stuffer, poor against the pass rush, he’s a situational player that can replace Knighton if he goes down. LE – John Chick ($300,000) – Was coming on as a situational pass rusher before (20 pressures in 180 snaps) before a missed holding call resulted in a knee injury, ending his season. DE – James Hall ($300,000) – He’s seasoned at 35, but has been extremely consistent ( 6 sacks per year last 5 years) and will be an awesome situations pass rusher for us. Linebackers SAM – Daryl Smith ($4,700,000) – Call him Mr. Consistently. He graded out as one of the NFL’s top OLBS for the second straight year. Not a household name, but football aficionados know that Smith is one of the game’s elite LBs. MIKE – Kelvin Sheppard ($480,000) – We lose Posluszny but add a more athletic LB with tons of upside. Started the last nine games of the year and is considered to be a breakout LB in 2012. Experience in 3-4 and 4-3 scheme. Only 24. WILL – Keith Rivers – A superb talent…when healthy. Injuries have hindered him during his career, but if healthy, he gives us an elite LB group. Depth behind him lessens injury concerns. Backups LB – Thomas Howard ($2,500,000) – Logged 99 tackles and 2 FFs last year when Rivers went down, so we know he can replace him again. We also plan to use this top 30 OLB (PFF) as a nickel LB because of his excellent coverage skills and have no qualms with him replacing Rivers if he out-produces him. LB – Stephen Nicholas ($1,500,000) – Battered with injuries last year, Nicholas still remained productive player for the Falcons, finishing with positive run-defending and pass-rush ratings according to PFF. LB – Kirk Morrison ($300,000) – Morrison is no longer a start in this league, but his professionalism, ability to play inside and outside, and starting experience make him an ideal backup. Secondary CB – Asante Samuel ($8,400,000) – An elite corner who finished in the top 10 amongst corners in completion percentage allowed (47.5%) and QB Rating allowed (52.4). SS – Dawan Landry ($4,125,000) – Was largely responsible for the Jaguars’ drastic defensive improvement last year, as he helped eliminate big plays down field while providing solid run support. FS – Nate Allen ($540,000) – After a strong start to his rookie season (2009) Allen trailed off some with a knee injury and was not 100% to begin last year. He finished the year strong with a 7.2 PFF grade in the final seven games of the season. He was ranked the No. 15 FS overall and should only improve, as he is just 24. CB – Derek Cox ($565,000) – Strong rookie year, bad sophomore campaign and then finally showed consistency in 2011, grading out as a solid No. 2 corner. Dealt with injury problems, but nothing too severe, meaning we expect him to build on his 2011 success. NB – Drew Coleman ($350,000) – Ideal nickel back is quick and can consistently (1.8 cover rating) guard the slot. Backups CB – Terrance McGee ($1,500,000) – Hurt last year but was awesome in 2010 (5.9 cover rating by PFF). At $1.5 million, we feel he provides excellent depth as a boundary corner or NB. Should even push Cox for starting role. When he returned from injury mid-season, he really stepped up his game. S – Jordan Babineaux ($650,000) – A late signing, Babineaux gives us a lot versatility. He logged 93 tackles and a pick last season, so he has starting ability. He’s ideally a SS, so could replace Landry if he gets hurt. Or, Landry could slide over to FS if Allen went down. Either way, we love or safety rotation. CB/FS – Lito Sheppard ($300,000) – Sheppard hasn’t been the same since leaving Philly, but we reunite him with Andy Reid. Sheppard also returns to his hometown, so we’re hoping that rejuvenates him. He started seven games last year, so we feel comfortable with the depth he provides. SS – Sean Jones ($300,000) – Struggled as a full-time starter in Tampa Bay but is a more than serviceable backup. FS – Chris Prosinski ($300,000) – Very talented young player that dealt with injuries and a learning curve as a rookie. Philosophy: We brought in Magini because he’s an excellent football mind and an experienced defensive coach. Maybe he’s not a HC, but he can maximize talent as a DC. We’ll run a abase 4-3 while also utilizing some 3-4 principles as well. Mel Tucker was a 3-4 guy when he came to Jacksonville a few years back and proved a good coordinator can master both defenses. Up front, Knighton will be our ‘plug’ and take on double-teams, enabling Osi to do damage as a pass rusher and Shepard to run free as sideline-to-sideline MLB. We love having Smith as a 1[SUP]st[/SUP] and 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] down DE and will move him inside as a 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] down pass rusher, making room for explosive DEs like Sidbury, Hall and Chick. In our 3-4, we expect Knighton to be our NT, Smith and Alualu/Martin as our DEs. Shepard has 3-4 ILB experience and Smith has enough size to be a 3-4 ILB too. Sidbury, Osi and Chick are ideal pass-rush LBs in this formation. Rivers is a solid blitzer too. Our secondary very talented and capable of shutting down the pass in zone and man-to-man coverage, so we will use both quite a bit. DL: Getting excellent depth, versatility and a plethora of pass rushers was the strategy here. Umenyiora gives us an elite DE to go with two up-and-coming DTs. Smith is one of the best run-stopping DEs in the NFL and can also slide inside to play DT in some situations. Martin adds excellent depth. LB: Again, we wanted depth and got a ton of it. Sheppard was basically our second rounder this year and will man the middle for the next decade. Smith and Rivers form a nasty outside duo. If either has injuries, we have two proven starters in Nicholas and Howard. Howard will see the field a lot in passing situations. DB: Samuel is an upgrade over Rashean Mathis and basically shuts down his side of the field. Cox doesn’t have much notoriety (surprise, he’s in Jacksonville) but was very good last year. McGee is regarded by some as a top 15 CB when he’s healthy and could push Cox. We hated to see Dwight Lowery go, but think Nate Allen has more potential in the long run. Our backups have a lot of starting experience and, once more time, provide excellent depth. Special Teams K – Josh Scobee ($2,251,200) – Spectacular 2011 campaign. 23-of-25 FGs (4 from 50+) and 62.9 TB percentage. P – Nick Harris ($300,000) – Not a spectacular leg (42 YPP) but he’s consistent, which is all we really want out of our STs. Trades 1.) 2.38 and WR Jarrett Dillard to Colts for QB Peyton Manning –Original reaction was that Jags got ripped off, but that sentiment changed pretty quickly. 2.) 5. 135 to Eagles for FS Nate Allen – Good value here for a young, proven FS. 3.) TE Marcedes Lewis to Bills for 3.73 – Inexplicable drop-off after signing bloated contract, Lewis had to go. Would have considered cutting him, so getting a strong 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] was amazing. 4.) DT D'Anthony Smith to Cowboys for 5.145 – Two lost years for injury-plagued Smith made this an easy decision. 5.) 6.166 and 7.199 to Broncos for RB Willis McGahee – Good value for McGahee, who we later flipped. 6.) 4. 102 to Chargers for WR Malcom Floyd – A starting WR that is fairly inexpensive for a 4[SUP]th[/SUP]? Think we got a steal. 7.) LB Clint Session for 3.94 and WR Kyle Williams – Session was hurt all last year and had an upwards salary of $4 million. The pick had more value to us than Session did. 8.) 5. 145and G Jason Spitz to Cincinnati Bengals for LB Thomas Howard – Got a starting-caliber LB for a 5[SUP]th[/SUP] and an overpaid, backup lineman. 9.) 3.94 to New York Jets for CB Asante Samuel – Top-five corner for a 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] is an excellent value in today’s NFL. Basically we flopped Session for Samuel, now that’s value. 10.) 1.7 to Philadelphia Eagles for TE Brent Celek, 1.23 and 3.66 – We didn’t see much value at 7 (although never expected Kalil to fall to 7) so trading down in the first while getting a star TE was a good move for an offense that needed just one more piece in place. 11.) LB Paul Posluszny, 3.66 and 3.71 to New York Giants for DE Osi Umenyiora, 2.64, 4.128 and 6.192- We love Poz and he had a great 2011 season, but we think an elite pass-rusher is harder to come by than a good MLB. We saved around $1 million with this deal and got a difference maker at DE, something the franchise hasn’t had since Tony Brackens was in teal. 12.) OL Eben Britton, RB Willis McGahee and 6.192 to Atlanta Falcons for DE Lawrence Sidbury, 3.86, 4.97 and 5.150 – After a bad soph season and injury-filled third year, it appears that Britton has limited potential as an OT in the NFL and is an average OG at best. Getting a pass-rush specialist and some solid mid-round picks made this a worthwhile move for us. 13.) 3.72 to Indianapolis Colts for WR Reggie Wayne – WR was a huge need and we solidified it with Wayne. 14.) 2.64 and 4.128 to Buffalo Bills for LB Kelvin Sheppard – More than we wanted to give up for a MLB, but we got a productive youngster that should see the Pro Bowl various times in his career. 15.) 1.23 for DE Justin Smith, LG Mikue Iupati and 3.94 – Definitely our best trade. Smith and Iupati are both worth late firsts by themselves, so to get both and a third thrown in is an amazing deal. 16.) 3.86 and 5.150 to Bengals for LB Keith Rivers and 4.121 – After a lot of conversations and negotiations, we pulled the trigger on Rivers to stabilize arguably the deepest LB group in the league. Draft Without a first or second, we had to really make the most of our picks and I think we did. Our concentration was on taking experienced players with leadership. We also wanted to go BPA and not reach. Our four players have a combined 153 starts in their collegiate careers. 3. 94 – Brandon Brooks, OL, Miami (Ohio.) – Four-year starter with size (6-4, 250), athleticism (sub 5.00 40) and intangibles you want. Projected as a 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] by NFL Draft Scout. He was selected 76th in the real NFL Draft. 4. 97 – Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma – The biggest risk we took. Loved him in college, had a lot of Marvin Harrison to his game with quickness, route-running ability and hands. Plus he gets a lot of YAC. If he didn’t tear ACL, he’d be an early 2[SUP]nd[/SUP]. He was selected 54th in the NFL Draft. 4. 121 – Mike Martin, DL, Michigan – Another great value who is projected as 2[SUP]nd[/SUP]-3[SUP]rd[/SUP] by NDS. He adds some serious depth to our DT rotation. Was selected 82nd in the NFL Draft. 5. C – Brian Linthicum, TE, Michigan State – Wasn’t my pick but I like his potential. Natural TE with good hands and quickness. Undrafted. Overall Just to sum up our goals: 1.) Bring in a proven quarterback to immediately upgrade the NFL’s worse passing attack: Check, getting Manning helps tremendously and allows Gabbert to learn behind him. Ideal situation. 2.) Hire a proficient offensive coach that could mold quarterbacks and run a well-balanced offense: Check, Reid is one of the NFL’s best at maximizing his QBs, young and old. He is a consistent winner, has a system in place that works and will use that to instill a winning culture in Jacksonville. 3.) Add a primary and secondary receiver: Check, Wayne and Floyd give us an excellent 1-2 punch. 4.) Keep a strong defense (ranked No. 6 in the NFL, which is amazing considering the No. 32 offense) intact while upgrading our defensive ends and overall depth: Check. We upgraded our defensive line and secondary while adding significant depth to our LBs. 5.) Finally, we wanted to turn the team into a contender while not completely mortgaging our long-term future: Check. Yes, we traded early draft picks but got some young, established players in return. Iupati is basically a first and Sheppard is a second. We obtained those guys as building blocks. There’s a lot more value in taking established 24-year-olds than there is drafting unproven 22-year-olds. Basically, we feel we took over a team no one wanted, addressed every area of need and significantly upgraded our roster, adding depth everywhere while sprinkling in youth. There are very few flaws with this team and I think transforming a bottom dweller into a playoff team capable of making noise in the postseason is something to be proud of.