2016 NFL Draft: Jacksonville Jaguars select Sheldon Day
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected defensive tackle Sheldon Day in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, adding even more depth to a suddenly youthful defense.
The Jacksonville Jaguars had a clear goal heading into the 2016 NFL Draft – fix the defense.
They appear to have done that in a monumental way.
After having the good fortune of somehow miraculously ending up with both Jalen Ramsey and Myles Jack in the first two rounds, the Jaguars switched over to the defensive line. On the heels of selecting uber-productive edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue in the third round, the Jaguars got a steal in the fourth round in Notre Dame defensive tackle Sheldon Day.
Our first pick of Day 3 of #JAXDraft16 is Sheldon Day.#JAXDraft16 Central » https://t.co/vS1emdvVBf pic.twitter.com/b7l6OKeFEm
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) April 30, 2016
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The Jaguars didn’t really need interior defensive line help, at least not in terms of starters, but the value of Day was just too good to pass up in the fourth round. Here’s the scouting report on Day from
:
"This is a good football player, but I don’t know if a team is going to be willing to use a first round pick on him because he’s not 6-3. It’s funny how football is all about results and production, yet somehow when it comes to the draft, teams prioritize size and upside over the guys who produce.Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. The key with Sheldon Day is, like I said, going to be whether or not he can physically hold up against NFL linemen consistently. The sample size we have from his days at Notre Dame seems to indicate he will be able to, and I think as we progress forward, this is a player I would love to have on my defensive line and a guy that is absolutely worth a top 50 selection."
Bedinger, cautiously, compares Day to St. Louis Rams first round pick Aaron Donald, high praise considering Donald has developed into one of the 5 best defensive players in the NFL. Day shows plenty of explosiveness and as a pass rusher on the interior. He’ll likely rotate with Malik Jackson and Sen’Derrick Marks as a 3-technique tackle and could take snaps from last year’s 6th round pick Michael Bennett.
The Jacksonville defense is starting to look mighty formidable and this is yet another mid-round draft steal courtesy of general manager David Caldwell.