Jacksonville Jaguars 2014 NFL Draft: Garoppolo in the 2nd?

Aug 31, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Eastern Illinois Panthers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (10) passes the ball during the first half against the San Diego State Aztecs at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

It’s no secret the Jacksonville Jaguars are going to take a quarterback in the 2014 NFL Draft this May. The question is when they take a signal caller.

With more and more chatter coming out about how down teams apparently are on this year’s top-tier quarterbacks, speculation is mounting about which quarterbacks might be appealing in the second round and beyond. The Jaguars had the opportunity to get a close look at quarterbacks Derek Carr from Fresno State and Jimmy Garoppolo from Eastern Illinois at the Senior Bowl, so naturally people are linking them to Jacksonville.

The latest writer adding fuel to this fire is Peter king over at MMQB.

"I’ve heard that at least four quarterback-needy teams… are strongly considering passing on quarterbacks with their first picks and waiting until their second or third selections… They’re not in love with any of the quarterbacks, and there are too many other good players who are surer things than a quarterback you have sincere doubts about… Jacksonville really likes Jimmy Garoppolo of Eastern Illinois, and he’d likely be there high in the second round when the Jags pick again, at 39.– Peter King MMQB"

This isn’t exactly news, as the Jaguars have seen quite a bit of Garoppolo in person including a personal visit this past week.

While it’s become trendy to push the top quarterbacks farther down in mock drafts, I still believe we’ll see the top 3 guys come off the board in the first ten picks. The top 3 guys I’m referring to are Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles, and Johnny Manziel. Some of the talk of a guy like Derek Carr or Jimmy Garoppolo being selected before any of those guys is completely dumbfounding and makes no sense to me.

At the end of the day, if the Jaguars take a quarterback outside the first round then odds are they will be looking for another quarterback next year. The probability of finding a franchise QB in the 2nd round and beyond is miniscule. We’ll see what happens come May.

-Daniel Lago

Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89