Jaguars Look for Diamonds in the Rough During Draft's Late Rounds

Drafting in the later rounds of the NFL Draft, a lot of teams are looking to acquire players who can provide depth, contribute on special teams, or be developmental players on the team's practice squad. In all reality, a good percentage of a team's late round selections usually find themselves cut from the roster before the end of their first training camp. However, when you are a team in rebuilding mode like the Jacksonville Jaguars, finding quality players who can come in and contribute right away is still a major point of focus in the later rounds. While finding the late round diamond in the rough is something every team hopes for, it is especially coveted when you are a team rebuilding with an eye on the future. After drafting Arizona's Mike Thomas in the fourth round, the Jaguars went with wide receiver once again in round five. By selecting Rice's Jarrett Dillard (5'10", 191 lbs.) in the fifth round, the Jaguars have added the NCAA's all-time leader in touchdown receptions to their roster. While not the speedster that Thomas is, Dillard is one thing - very productive. Expect Dillard, who finished his collegiate career with 4,138 receiving yards and 60 touchdown receptions, to come in and contribute to the Jaguars new look receiving corps right away. For all the Jaguar/Gator fans that have a man-crush on Tim Tebow and go to bed every night dreaming sweet dreams of Timmy putting on the Jaguars jersey next year, the Jaguars gave them the next best thing. With the team's sixth round draft pick, Jacksonville selected Nebraska-Omaha's Zach Miller (6'4", 240 lbs.), who describes himself as a "poor man's Tim Tebow." Miller, who played quarterback in college, is making a position switch to tight end in the NFL - something that many feel Tim Tebow will have to do next year. While Miller is clearly a developmental player, one can envision all sorts of uses for a player who finished with 4,096 career passing yards and 26 career touchdown passes to go with 3,122 career rushing yards and 50 career touchdown runs. Tight end...H-Back...Wildcat...who knows? But one thing is certain - I am looking forward to watching Zach Miller develop. The seventh, and final, round of the 2009 NFL Draft has the potential to have been really good for the Jaguars. The club used it's first of two picks in the round to select Liberty running back Rashad Jennings (6'1", 231 lbs.). Jennings is a big back with good speed that can catch the ball out of the backfield. Expect Jennings to give Chauncey Washington a run for his money when it comes to spelling Maurice Jones-Drew and Greg Jones. With their final pick of the 2009 NFL Draft, the Jaguars added even more depth to the wise receiver corps by selecting Rutger's Tiquan Underwood (6'1", 184 lbs.). Underwood possesses 4.3 speed, and hopes are that he can make the club and provide the Jaguars with a legitimate deep threat for the first time since the retirement of Jimmy Smith. I think that the 2009 draft class is the best draft class the jaguars have had in years. Like it or not, the Jaguars are a team that is rebuilding for the long run, not the 2009 season, and by sticking to their value board and not reaching for need, the Jaguars have positioned themselves very nicely for the future. Another couple of draft classes like this one, and the Jaguars may find themselves as a legitimate contender for quite a few years.