Jacksonville Jaguars

Jaguars, Colts, Let’s get it on!

// October 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // David Garrard, Derek Cox, Marcedes Lewis, Maurice Jones Drew, Mike Sims-Walker, Pocket Hercules

You can throw out the record books when the Colts and Jaguars get together, which they will do this Sunday afternoon in Jacksonville. Since the whooping Peyton Manning and the Colts put on the Jaguars on Monday night back in 2007, all 5 games have been within 7 points or less. The Colts are 4-1 in those games, but each one could have easily gone the other way. The Jaguars always seem to play their best games when Indianapolis comes to town.

Last season, the Colts won 2 hard fought games: 14-12 in Week 1, and 35-31 on a Thursday night in Week 15. How close was that Week 15 game? An NFL Record 9 lead changes throughout the game. They also won in Jacksonville a week after beating Denver.

Hmmm…

The Jaguars come off a giant let-down of a game last weekend, getting smacked around by the Eagles 28-3. Stud RB Maurice Jones-Drew was held to 88 yards on 22 carries, and only 1 receiving yard on 2 catches. I’m going to go out on a limb and say he’s going to have more receiving yards this week. David Garrard also struggled mightily, barely getting in positive numbers in ANPY/A, 0.25 / Attempt, worst in the league last week. It was the 2nd week in a row Garrard was pretty bad, as he got yanked, then put back into duty after an injury to Luke McCown, against the Chargers.

So how do the two teams match-up? Let’s take a look…

Some keys from the stats:

I don’t know about you, but every time the Colts play the Jaguars, I’m infuriated at the fact that the Jaguars convert 3rd down after 3rd down by 2 or less yards.  It’s like death by paper cuts.  Despite being pretty poor at Drive Success Rate (DSR), they are pretty good at the other drive-related stats: Time of Possession / Drive, First Downs / Drive, and Plays / Drive.  The quickest way to get Jacksonville out of the game is to get them off the field on 3rd Down.  Oh, and watch for the 6 yard hitch patterns on the outside on 3rd and 5.  I call it the Tim Jennings Special.

Watch the Red Zone Efficiency again this week.  The Jaguars haven’t been too good so far this young season on either side of the ball, while the Colts have been fantastic.

The best stat for the Jaguars this year?  Net Punting Average.  Their special teams look to be pretty good.  Let’s hope that get a lot more practice covering punts.

These numbers don’t take into account schedule played, which according to the Winning Stats, the Jaguars have played the toughest schedule so far this year (Colts are #17).  When you adjust for opponents, the Jaguars become much better statistically (Non-Adj: 27th Overall, Adj: 13th).

Other things to watch:

Injuries on the Offensive Line.  Jeff Linkenbach didn’t play too bad last week, but that might be slightly skewed because of just how bad both Mike Pollak and Jamie Richard played.  It’d be really nice if Charlie Johnson came back this week healthy.  He practiced fully on Wednesday, so that’s a great sign.

I think Jack Del Rio is coaching for his job on Sunday.  Another blow out loss will mean his team has pretty clearly quit on him, and he’ll need to be replaced immediately.  Maybe the Colts will let them hang around just enough to let Del Rio keep his job, at least until they come to Indianapolis in Week 15.

The Jaguars defense is very familiar with Manning, intercepting at least 1 pass in 6 of the last 7 meetings between the teams.  He’s been extremely careful with the ball so far this season, but there always seems to be a bad bounce that gets intercepted against Jacksonville.  I’m betting we’ll see one this week too.

Both Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis were bottled up pretty well last Sunday against the Broncos.  I haven’t had an opportunity to re-watch the game yet, so I’m not sure whether the Tackles were just really good, or whether they had lots of help.  More on that Friday.  Getting to Garrard on those 3rd down and mediums will be vital to the Colts success.

Prediction:

On paper, this doesn’t look like much of a game, as the Colts have significantly outperformed the Jaguars so far in 2010.  However, familiarity almost always wins out in this series, so I just can’t see a blowout.  Factor in that I think the Jaguars do care about their coach, so they’ll be playing hard to save his job.  I know most teams like to wait until the Bye week if they are going to fire their coach in-season, but that is still 5 weeks away, way too long in a league where every game matters.  I don’t see Del Rio making it much past next Tuesday, as the Colts will win handily, but certainly not easily.

Jags versus Eagles Preview > From NBC Philadelphia.

// September 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // Aaron Kampman, David Garrard, Mike Sims-Walker, jack del rio

Every week during the season, we’ll scout out the Eagles next opponent. This week, that opponent is the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Record: 1-1

The Line: Eagles by 3.5. Again, the Eagles are road favorites going up against a supposedly bad team. They failed to cover last week.

Last Game: A 38-13 beatdown courtesy of the Chargers, who breezed through the Jags as if they weren’t even there. Quarterback David Garrard, who looked so good in the team’s 24-17 opening week win over Denver, got picked off four times and was eventually benched for Luke McCown. LUKE MCCOWN! Oh, that’s not good at all.

The Coach: Jack Del Rio, aka Eddie Money. This is Del Rio’s last season in Jacksonville. He doesn’t know that yet, so shhhhhhhh! I’d hate to spoil the surprise.

The Offense: It’s hard to figure out which Garrard will show up on Sunday: the one who looked so good in the opener, or the one who went to pieces last week. In his best season (2007), Garrard was a highly efficient passer who seemed on the verge of breaking out. But it’s three years later and he still has yet to make that leap. Mike Sims-Walker is a dangerous threat downfield, and you know all about Maurice Jones-Drew. Given how the Eagles fared against the Lions offense last week, I think it’s safe to say the Jags can do some damage.

The Defense: Aaron Kampman was stolen away from Green Bay and looks very much like his old pass rushing self. It’ll be the job of the Eagles’ o-line, which hasn’t been very good thus far, to keep him away from Kevin Kolb, lest Kolb be concussed again and give way to Michael Vick. Yes, that would be tragic. I guess. Kind of.

Key Matchup: Sims-Walker vs. Asante Samuel. Shut down Sims-Walker, and you’ve basically shutdown the Jaguars passing game. They’re considerate like that.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/blogs/birds-nest/Out-Of-The-Nest-Eagles-at-Jaguars—103435759.html

Garrard’s three touchdown passes, equates to best passer rating and helped Jacksonville beat the Denver Broncos 24-17

// September 13th, 2010 // No Comments » // Aaron Kampman, Daryl Smith, David Garrard, Derek Cox, Marcedes Lewis, Mike Sims-Walker, Tebow

;JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — David Garrard played last season with “Draft Tebow” bumper stickers floating around town and No. 15 jerseys, the ones in teal and black, scattered in the stands.

They may have been a little threatening then.
They certainly don’t bother him now.

Garrard threw three touchdown passes, finished with his best passer rating and helped Jacksonville beat the Denver Broncos 24-17 on Sunday in a season opener the Jaguars called one of the most important in franchise history.
“This was big for us,” said tight end Marcedes Lewis, who caught two TD passes. “We really got some juice out of our squeeze.”
As for Tim Tebow? Well, the former Florida star made his NFL debut in his hometown and got rousing support. But he was a non-factor in the game.
The Broncos can’t say the same about Garrard, who completed 16 of 21 passes for 170 yards. His QB rating was 138.9, besting his previous high set in 2006.
“Everybody in this room believes in Dave and understands he’s our leader,” Lewis said. “This is big for him. It’s big for his confidence. If Dave is going to be great, then everyone else has to be great around him.”
Garrard got plenty of help.
Mike Thomas caught six passes for 89 yards. Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 98 yards. Adam Podlesh dropped two punts inside the 10-yard line. Tiquan Underwood returned a kickoff 53 yards that set up a field goal.
Maybe the most telling stat: Jacksonville, which ranked last in the league with 14 sacks last season, had three in the opener and hit Kyle Orton several other times.
“You get what you emphasize, usually,” said Aaron Kampman, the team’s biggest offseason acquisition who was involved in two sacks. “We have emphasized getting after the passer.”
Kampman kept the outing in perspective, pointing out that Denver played with two rookies (center J.D. Walton and right tackle Zane Beadles) on the offensive line and had All-Pro left tackle Ryan Clady starting five months after knee surgery.
“They had some guys who didn’t have a ton of experience in the league,” Kampman said. “But they’re still NFL players out there.”
The Jaguars, coming off a 7-9 season in which they blacked out nine of 10 home games, needed to get off to a good start to keep fans in the seats and eliminate more talk about relocation.
Tebow’s debut made a victory even more imperative, especially since some Jaguars fans clamored for the former University of Florida star.
The Broncos wasted little time getting Tebow on the field. The college football icon who grew up in Jacksonville entered on the third play. He gained a yard on a quarterback keeper. He returned two plays later and lined up at receiver. Tebow picked up another yard on his second carry, this one coming in the second quarter.
“It was a learning opportunity for me, an opportunity to get better,” Tebow said.
Tebow spent the rest of the game on the sideline. Orton was much more effective — at least until the fourth quarter.
Orton was 21 of 33 for 295 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Orton’s fourth-down pass to Brandon Lloyd in the corner of the end zone was ruled incomplete with 4:41 remaining. Lloyd, who caught four passes for 106 yards, didn’t get two feet down.
“Made a lot of plays, but left a few out there,” Orton said. “We didn’t make enough plays and that’s unfortunate.”
The Broncos got the ball back with 1:50 left, but Daryl Smith stepped in front of Eddie Royal and picked off Orton’s pass near midfield.
Orton blamed some of the problems on static he was getting in his helmet, possibly the result of a thunderstorm that moved through Jacksonville and forced a 33-minute delay between the third and fourth quarters.
“Anytime you’re on the road in the NFL, you have to be prepared for that,” he said. “We put ourselves in the situation to win, but didn’t make the plays down the stretch.”
Denver might not have been behind had it not been for defensive end Ryan McBean’s two costly penalties. McBean was flagged twice for grabbing Jones-Drew’s face mask on the winning drive. The Jaguars used the extra 30 yards to move 83 yards in seven plays, capping the drive with Garrard’s 24-yard strike to Kassim Osgood.
It was Osgood’s first TD catch since 2004 — maybe the reason he celebrated so wildly.
Osgood was flagged for celebrating, a penalty that gave the Broncos good field position. Orton got them down to the Jacksonville 14, but his third-and-3 pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and his fourth-down throw was a bit wide.
Garrard didn’t make the same mistakes.
“Those are the types of plays that we got to make all year,” he said.

Game notes
Jaguars CB Derek Cox was benched in the third quarter after getting beat several times. “Tough game for me,” he said. “Some days you’re on, and today I wasn’t on like I want to be.” … Jaguars won their season opener for the first time since 2006. … It was the hottest game in franchise history in Jacksonville. Temperatures reached 93 degrees with a heat index of 105. … Broncos CBs Champ Bailey and Andre Goodman held WR Mike Sims-Walker without a catch.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

How the National Media Views the Jacksonville Jaguars

// June 14th, 2010 // No Comments » // Aaron Kampman, Coaching Staff, David Garrard, Maurice Jones Drew, Mike Sims-Walker, NFL Draft, Playoffs??? Playoffs!!!?, Rashean Mathis, Thanks Wayne Weaver, jack del rio

Why Your Team Won’t Win the Super Bowl: Jacksonville Jaguars Edition.
Nick Signorelli by
Nick Signorelli
Senior Writer Written on June 13, 2010
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/405022-why-your-team-wont-win-the-super-bowl?search_query=jaguars%20why

No, I am not picking on just the Jacksonville Jaguars! This is a series that I am doing for all 32 of the NFL teams, Why Your Team Won’t Win The Super Bowl.

To me, the Jacksonville Jaguars are one of the strangest teams to figure out. During the NFL’s last expansion, instead of putting a team in the second largest market in America, LA, the powers that be decided to put the franchise in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Jaguars have had numerous problems selling out home games, and have had many games blacked out,for lack of ticket sales.

They have even had games where they would section off parts of the stadium so that people would not see the empty seats.

In my opinion, forget about all the talk about the Rams or the Vikings moving to Los Angeles when their leases are up at their current buildings. In my opinion, it is going to be the Jaguars.

This is not to disrespect the fans of Jacksonville in any way. I actually feel sorry for any city that loses their team. But I honestly believe from the top down the Jaguars are looking to make a change.

For starters this offseason we had the verbal spatting between head coach Jack Del Rio and owner Wayne Weaver over Del Rio’s interest in coaching the USC Trojans when Pete Carroll left to coach the Seahawks.

Del Rio is a former player and coach at USC, and I would be willing to bet the mortgage that the powers that be at USC would have taken Del Rio over Lane Kiffin in a second.

Del Rio has been the Jaguars second coach, only to Tom Coughlin, since the inception of the Jaguars in 1995.

He has made some curious decisions, such as allowing Byron Leftwich to walk out the door and to hand the reigns of the franchise to David Garrard.

Garrard is a decent player, but has yet to prove that he is any where near good enough to lead the Jaguars into the future successfully. And Jacksonville has done nothing to bring in competition for him, or address the situation in the draft.

The defensive line has struggled, even though Aaron Kampman was brought in to help the younger players.

Maurice Jones-Drew and Mike Sims-Walker are two potential superstars, but without a quality offensive line or quarterback, neither one’s skills will reach full potential as long as they are in Jacksonville.

Though there are some bright spots for the Jaguars, there are just too many holes for this team to make a serious run at the Lombardi this year.

My prediction: 5-11, last place in the AFC South.

Jacksonville Jaguars Roster Rankings

// May 5th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // David Garrard, Derek Cox, ESPN, Gene Smith, Josh Scobee, Maurice Jones Drew, Mike Sims-Walker, Scouting

By Charlie Bernstein
Editor-In-Chief of JagNation.com
Posted May 5, 2010

http://buzztap.com/link.jsp?id=1478979&cid=26&source=feed

The first weekend of mini-camp is over and virtually no roster decisions will or have been made. That said, we will add to the baseless speculation upon what the final roster will look like as we rank the Jaguars current roster, 1-67 (we’ve omitted undrafted rookies).

We credit this story idea to ESPN Chicago columnist Michael Wright, who ran a similar column breaking down the Chicago Bears roster

1. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB
2. Daryl Smith, LB
3. Mike Sims-Walker, WR
4. Terrance Knighton, DT
5. Rashean Mathis, CB
6. Marcedes Lewis, TE
7. Eugene Monroe, OT
8. Aaron Kampman, DE
9. Tyson Alualu, DT
10. Derrick Harvey, DE

11. Derek Cox, CB
12. Justin Durant, LB
13. David Garrard, QB
14. Eben Britton, OT
15. Kirk Morrison, LB
16. Vince Manuwai, OG
17. Greg Jones, FB
18. Uche Nwaneri, OG
19. D’Anthony Smith, DT
20. Josh Scobee, K

21. Mike Thomas, WR
22. Kassim Osgood, WR
23. Reggie Hayward, DE
24. Luke McCown, QB
25. Tyron Brackenridge, CB
26. Gerald Alexander, S
27. Zach Miller, TE
28. Brad Meester, C
29. Larry Hart, OLB
30. Atiyyah Ellison, DT

31. Russell Allen, LB
32. Adam Podlesh, P
33. Jordan Black, OT
34. Rashad Jennings, RB
35. Freddy Keiaho, LB
36. Austin Lane, DE
37. Kynan Forney, OG
38. Montell Owens, FB
39. Ernest Wilford, TE
40. Reggie Nelson, S

41. Jarett Dillard, WR
42. Scott Starks, CB
43. Anthony Smith, S
44. Jeremy Mincey, DE
45. Cameron Stephenson, OL
46. Jeremy Cain, LS
47. Sean Considine, S
48. Nate Hughes, WR
49. Deji Karim, RB
50. Don Carey, CB

51. William Middleton, CB
52. Brock Bolen, FB
53. Scotty McGee, RS
54. Julius Williams, DE
55. Jeremy Navarre, DE
56. Cecil Newton, C
57. Courtney Greene, S
58. Walter Curry, DL
59. Zach Potter, TE
60. Tiquan Underwood, WR

61. Michael Coe, CB
62. Chris Harrington, DE
63. Paul McQuistan, OL
64. Andrew Crummey, OL
65. Allen Patrick, RB
66. Bryan Smith, LB*

Mike Sims-Walker showing some pride.

// May 4th, 2010 // No Comments » // Mike Sims-Walker, Player News, Tealgate Adventures

University of Central Florida grads know what is up. Thanks Mike!

2010 Jacksonville Jaguars Rookie Camp Wrap Up

// May 3rd, 2010 // No Comments » // Coaching Staff, Commentary, David Garrard, Mike Sims-Walker

http://jac.scout.com/2/967294.html
By Charlie Bernstein
Editor-in-Chief
Posted May 2, 2010

Football is back, sort of. Just a week after the draft, nearly 1,600 loyal Jaguars fans braved the 90 degree temperatures to watch their Jacksonville Jaguars take the field for the first time in nearly five months.

“Great to be outside, great to be working, getting out on the grass, a beautiful day for it, the fans came out, nice to see, and kick off our 2010 season,” Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio said.

Off the field

- The fan support was great and the team looked like they had an extra bounce in their collective steps.

- Greg Jones, Aaron Kampman and Zach Miller were all inactive. Jones and Kampman still “rehabbing” according to head coach Jack Del Rio, and Miller had some sort of foot issue which caused him to miss the afternoon session.

Jacksonville Offense

It’s easier to elaborate on the offensive side of the ball in these non-contact camps as the passing game is the only thing that resembles actual play.

Quarterbacks

- All three quarterbacks were rusty and shaky in spots which can be expected after a five month layoff. Starter David Garrard looked fantastic throwing the short slant routes as every single pass hit the receivers between the numbers. Garrard struggled throwing outs, as the timing was off with his receivers. Garrard was also shaky on longer throws and was vocal with his receivers.

- Backup quarterback Luke McCown showed a very strong arm through much of the practice and was accurate on out patterns and seam throws. It was the first chance we had to see McCown practice and the 6′4″ gunslinger was impressive. McCown showed an ability to throw the ball downfield with good accuracy which was especially impressive as he hasn’t had many reps with his receivers.

“David’s the starter,” McCown said when asked about his short-term goals for this season. “That means I’ve got to be ready to play if called upon, one way or the other. With that said, that doesn’t keep me from competing. When I get a rep, when I get on the field, I go at it like I’m the starter. That’s the way I’ve always prepared, and I’ve always said if I don’t prepare that way, I’m doing a disservice to my teammates who are out there. They deserve someone to be prepared and ready to play and help them win a ball game.”

Undrafted rookie Trevor Harris from Edinboro College worked mostly with the running backs and tight ends. He showed a quick set up and release, but struggled when throwing the football down field.

Running backs

- It’s difficult to gauge the running backs when there’s no contact, but Maurice Jones-Drew looked to be in good shape and rookie Deji Karim looks like a smaller version of Jones-Drew. Second-year player Rashad Jennings showed an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and showed very good feet and burst in situations.

Wide Receivers

- Mike Sims-Walker made the play of the day at practice when he jumped up and stabbed an errant David Garrard pass and reeled it in with one hand. The former UCF star ran excellent routes and seems to have put on weight in his upper body which should help him beat jams better this year. Sims-Walker looked the part of a number one receiver and will be depended on to do so during the season.

“Torry taught us a lot last year and now it’s on me to step up and be the number one,” Sims-Walker said following practice.

- Mike Thomas and Jarett Dillard showed suddenness and solid hands throughout the day and Thomas abused rookie Scotty McGee on a double-move in one-on-one drills.

- Free agent acquisition Kassim Osgood looks the part of an impressive red zone target as the 6′5″, 220 lb. target uses his body well to shield off defenders. Still, Osgood doesn’t look like he’ll ever be a consistent target as he runs awkwardly and is an unaccomplished route runner.

- Troy Williamson is the enigma of the group as he runs routes like a true number one receiver, but still doesn’t look comfortable catching the football. After an early drop, Williamson caught everything thrown his way.

- Tiquan Underwood had a dreadful performance as he dropped about half the throws that went in his direction. Nate Hughes made a few nice plays, rookie Chris McGaha showed great hands all afternoon long, and try-out player Rocky Ross showed an ability to get open and catch the football, despite once losing a shoe during a play.

Tight Ends

The tight ends were mostly involved in individual drills, but Marcedes Lewis looks very impressive physically, caught everything thrown his way and appears to be poised for a huge season.

Defense (by Alfie Crow)

Defensively, there isn’t a lot to tell in mini-camp. The only real noticeable thing was the complete overhaul on the defensive side of the ball. Tyson Alualu was plugged in with the first team right away and showed his explosion off the snap of the ball, without any pads mind you. Kirk Morrison was vocal in the middle of the defense barking out the calls and changing the plays, making sure everyone was lined up correctly on the defense. One interesting thing however, was that Reggie Nelson never worked with the first team defense. As I said, it’s only Day One, but that will be an interesting storyline to watch as the off-season progresses. The safeties with the first team defense were Gerald Alexander and Anthony Smith, both of which were acquired last season.

Normally I would like to do a rookie report during mini-camp, but all of the draft picks but one were on the defensive side of the ball. All I can really say, is that Alualu and D’Anthony Smith are explosive off the snap, and Austen Lane is a giant man. A free agent rookie to keep an eye on is Norfolk State safety Terell Whitehead. He intercepted a Luke McCown pass during what was supposed to be one-on-one drills. Defensive coordinator Mel Tucker told him to jump the route if he could on the play, which Whitehead did, and was abruptly met with a “Hey man! Not fair!” by the intercepted quarterback.

Overall it was nice to see the team return to action and Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio claims that he has the types of attitudes that he likes in the locker room to play football, “the Jaguar way.”

“The paradigm of how we’re doing things has changed over the last two years,” Del Rio said. “We aren’t going to tolerate things that aren’t done with the intent of helping us win a championship.”

Draft Watch 2010 with ESPN’s Paul Kuharsky

// March 10th, 2010 // No Comments » // AFC South, ESPN, Maurice Jones Drew, Mike Sims-Walker, NFL Draft, University of Florida

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcsouth/post/_/id/10103/draft-watch-afc-south-4
By Paul Kuharsky

Each Wednesday leading up to the NFL draft (April 22-24), the ESPN.com blog network will take a division-by-division look at key aspects of the draft. Today’s topic: Recent history.

Houston Texans

The best move the Texans made in the past three seasons was trading a second-round pick in 2007 and 2008 to Atlanta for Matt Schaub, a quarterback who’s the key to their offense and team. With so many teams in need of a quality starter, that trade seems like a steal now. They’ve taken four defensive backs with the 10 picks they’ve made in the fifth round or later, and out of Brandon Harrison, Dominique Barber, Brice McCain and Troy Nolan they’ve not found a guy who has been able to contribute consistently. It’s time to spend a big pick on a free safety or corner who has great ball skills.

Indianapolis Colts

Skill positions get attention early, with receiver Anthony Gonzalez and running back Donald Brown grabbed with the two first-rounders in the past three years. The hits in the third round and later have become significant players: Clint Session, Pierre Garcon, Jerraud Powers, Austin Collie, Pat McAfee. Trouble spot? Look to the five offensive linemen who haven’t really panned out. That’s understandable with Steve Justice (sixth in 2008), Jamey Richard (seventh in 2008) and Jaimie Thomas (seventh in 2009), but Tony Ugoh (second in 2007) and Mike Pollak (second in 2008) have left the team with holes and problems that need to be addressed in April. Out of five picks there has to be at least one starter, probably two.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Two first-round picks out of Florida have not met expectations, but the Jaguars still hope safety Reggie Nelson and defensive end Derrick Harvey can become consistent players. Of 25 picks, only one is established as a playmaker on offense, Mike Sims-Walker (third-rounder in 2007). That’s a big part of the reason the team’s not especially potent on offense beyond Maurice Jones-Drew. The top four from the 2009 draft got significant starting experience as rookies, and the 2010 class will have similar opportunities. While Harvey can be steady, he’s not an explosive pass-rusher, and Quentin Groves has struggled. Even with Aaron Kampman signed, they still need another pass-rusher.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans have fared nicely with pass-rushers from lesser-known schools — William Hayes of Winston-Salem State is on the brink of big things and Jacob Ford of Central Arkansas is a skilled rusher. Contributions from second-rounders have been minimal — Chris Henry is already gone, Jason Jones hasn’t stayed healthy or consistent and Sen’Derrick Marks had no impact as a rookie. After hitting a home run with seventh-rounder Cortland Finnegan in 2006, late-round corners Ryan Smith, Cary Williams and, so far, Jason McCourty, haven’t panned out. A quality corner is a need early in this draft.