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Draft Preview: Jaguars pick 26th
Posted: Tuesday March 23, 1999 02:42 PM
For the next 26 days, CNN/SI will offer a daily look at one pick from the 1999 draft, finishing with Cleveland. Check back for a new preview each day. The Jacksonville Jaguars have the 26th pick in the upcoming draft, and it'll be hard for them to match the success they had out of last year's draft. The Jaguars picked up the No. 9 pick in the draft from Buffalo for quarterback Rob Johnson and used that pick to take Florida tailback Fred Taylor, who rushed for 1,223 yards and 14 touchdowns. Jacksonville's other first-round pick, safety Donovin Darius, was second on the team with 63 tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown. Coach Tom Coughlin brought in former Carolina Panthers coach Dom Capers as his defensive coordinator, putting another great football mind in the Jaguars' braintrust. This is a team that acquired its franchise quarterback Mark Brunell for just a third- and fifth-round pick on the day before their first draft, so don't be surprised if they pull off a trade or two to maneuver in the draft. Best bets for No. 26 If there's a single need the Jaguars can address with their first pick, it looks to be their pass rush. Injuries decimated the Jacksonville defense last season, and the team finished last in the NFL with just 30 sacks. The Jaguars have taken some major steps to upgrade their defense in the off-season -- hiring Capers was a good start, and then Jacksonville scored the first major free-agent coup in signing Carnell Lake away from the Steelers. They've added defensive tackle Gary Walker from Tennessee and re-signed three other defenders, which should help off-set the expected loss of defensive tackle John Jurkovic. What Jacksonville really needs from this draft is an outside pass-rusher, and there are several options possible for their draft position. Coughlin met with several defensive linemen at the NFL combines last month, but with other teams looking to address their pass rush, his top picks might be off the board by the time Jacksonville is on the clock.
North Carolina's Ebenezer Ekuban has seen his stock rise considerably in the last two months -- the 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive end is expected to make the same kind of immediate impact his former linemates Greg Ellis and Vonnie Holliday made last season after they were taken in the first round. It's doubtful that Ekuban will drop that far, but there are other potential impact pass rushers that should be available. One player to keep an eye on is Lamar King, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound defensive end from tiny Saginaw Valley State. King's speed and athletic ability has him among the first three or four defensive ends in the draft -- he dominated offensive linemen in college and has done a lot in the off-season to allay concerns that he wouldn't be able to find the same success against tougher competition in the NFL. In King, the Jaguars would have a great complement to Tony Brackens and Joel Smeenge -- he might not be an every-down pass rusher at the start of the year, but by the playoffs, he could be making a difference in getting the Jacksonville defense back on track. Look for Coughlin to use his top pick on a defensive end, and King should be the best pass rusher at that point. Click here if you have a question or comment about the upcoming NFL Draft. We'll answer a few questions and publish selected comments once a week between now and April 17.
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