Geno Smith To Jaguars? Jacksonville Sends Contingent to West Virginia Pro Day
By Luke Sims
Feb 24, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith (13) participates in a passing drill during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
So much for the Jacksonville Jaguars thinking that Blaine Gabbert really could be their guy. In the most obvious show of dissatisfaction with the current quarterback situation with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team has sent head coach Gus Bradley and general manager Dave Caldwell to West Virginia University’s Pro Day to get a closer look at Geno Smith, the best quarterback prospect in this year’s draft.
Is this really the Jaguars abandoning the Gabbert project, or is this just the team doing its due diligence and getting a look at a top player in this year’s draft? Deeper still, is this a smoke screen designed to throw teams off what the Jags really want? It’s about the time of year that teams start to play their hands much closer to the vest and don’t want teams to know what they are doing.
The Kansas City Chiefs could benefit the most from the Jags’ apparent interest in Smith. If the Jaguars, poised at number two overall in the NFL Draft, decide that they like Smith then the Chiefs could develop a market with the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, or the Arizona Cardinals to leapfrog the Jaguars to grab Smith at first overall.
Assuming that the Jaguars are tipping their hand and are genuinely interested in Smith, the quarterback competition in Jacksonville will have gotten a whole lot more interesting – assuming they manage to bring him in. Bradley, who was in Seattle last year, would likely not favor Smith even though he would be a guy that Caldwell had brought in for the new regime. Bradley lives and breathes competition and, following Pete Carroll’s example in Seattle, would play the player that gives them the most opportunity to win. Even if an investment had been made in a player like Matt Flynn or, in this case, Smith.
At this point I am not convinced that the Jaguars are going to draft Smith. Not only has the Pro Day not panned out yet, but there are so many options available that the Jags would have to really, really like Smith this year to pick him over a multitude of Pro Bowl caliber players at positions with less inflated value.
– Luke N. Sims
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