The Jacksonville Jaguars Draft History and Comments : 2003 NFL Draft pt 2
The Jacksonville Jaguars Draft History and Comments : 2003 NFL Draft New Head Coach Jack Del Rio. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
In the fourteenth article in “The Jacksonville Jaguars Draft History and Comments” series, we will continue to review a particular Jaguar draft class, until we have reviewed all 19 of their drafts. Today we will continue with 2003 starting from the fifth round. We have previously examined:
- The 1995 Expansion Draft
- The 1995 NFL Draft pt 1
- The 1995 NFL Draft pt 2
- The 1996 NFL Draft
- The 1997 NFL Draft
- The 1998 NFL Draft
- The 1999 NFL Draft
- The 2000 NFL Draft
- The 2001 NFL Draft pt 1
- The 2001 NFL Draft pt 2
- The 2002 NFL Draft pt 1
- The 2002 NFL Draft pt 2
- The 2003 NFL Draft pt 1
The Jaguars remained depressingly consistent with a 6-10 record, their third losing record in a row. This earned the Jags the 8th pick in the 2003 Draft. This was the first draft without Tom Coughlin. . The Jags had 9 draft picks. I will go over each selection and say something concerning the player, if deserving. I will also bring up any missed opportunity where the Jags, with hindsight on my side, could have made a better selection. I will also bring up anything interesting related to the draft…Jaguar or not. As Huey Lewis once famously sang…”Gonna Go Back in Time…”
Round Five/THE JAGS HAD NO 5TH ROUND PICK
Further info – Only one QB was selected in the 5th round. Four players selected went on to appear in the Pro Bowl. LB Khalid Abdullah, drafted #136 by the Bengals, was from a college I have never heard of…Mars Hill. And he was selected two picks before Robert Mathis…So there you go!
Round Six/Pick #176 – Brandon Green, DE, Rice – First misstep, even though it appears this was more related to Green getting injured everytime he took two steps. Spent two years with the Jags, mostly on the IR. Stayed in the league another three years, managing to register 41 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. Would I have picked different? – Yes. It wouldn’t have been sexy, but the next pick was OG Reggie Wells. He went on to have a 10 year career.
Round Six/Pick #179 – David Young, S, Georgia Southern – OK…this was a BAD pick. David never made the Jags squad. I guess he was horrible because he was claimed three other times that year (Browns, Jets, and then the Browns again). He ended up staying on some roster two more years, putting up a whopping 5 career tackles. He even ended up being a non-active member of a CFL team in 2006. Does that even exist? Would I have picked different? – I sure as hell hope so. #189 was DE Jimmy Wilkerson to the Chiefs. He went on to have a nine year career, putting up 179 tackles and 14 sacks. Nothing spectacular but better than Mr. Young.
Round Six/Pick #193 – Marques Ogden, OT, Howard – This is the NFL version of Nepotism. Because Hall of Fame OT Jonathon Ogden is so good, his little brother must be also…Right? WRONG. Marques was a slightly below serviceable tackle who never got to a professional level. He lasted two years with the Jags, another two years elsewhere, yet ESPN shows him with no playing time. He is now about to start his fifth year in the Indoor Football League. Huge miss. Would I have picked different? – No doubt. The Dolphins, with the #213 pick, selected SS Yeremiah Bell. He had a wonderful career lasting 12 years, with 726 tackles, 8 INTs, 13 sacks, 9 forced fumbles, and 54 passes defended. He even mixed in a Pro Bowl appearance. He would have been nice to have!
Further info – Three QBs were selected in the 6th (Drew Henson, Brooks Bollinger, & Kliff Kingsbury). All were disappointments. Kingsbury played in one game, going 1 for 2. Henson, for a QB, was a good baseball player. Bollinger actually got some playing time with two different teams but just couldn’t put together the kind of stats that keep you in the league for long. Four players selected were voted into the Pro Bowl. At pick #211, the Giants selected David Tyree, who would make one of the most memorable catches in Super Bowl history to help the Giants win over the favored Patriots.
Round Seven/Pick #218 – Malaefou MacKenzie, FB, USC – This draft has really limped to the finish line. Mr Mackenzie never saw the field and was out of the NFL by years end. I know all seventh round picks are a crap shoot, but the way this franchise has missed in the seventh, they need to get their eyes checked. Would I have picked different? – Damn Straight!! All the way down at #255, the Giants selected WR Kevin Walter, who would eventually go to the Texans and be the best complimentary receiver Andre Johnson has ever had.
Further info – The last two QBs were selected in the 7th round. Overall, thirteen QBs were selected in the draft.No Pro Bowlers came from the 7th round. 36 Pro Bowlers were drafted all together. This is the round where the very interesting names came into play. Here they go…Curry, Malaefou, Blue, Taco, Montique, Talman, Gibran, Chance, Demetrin, Tully, Siddeeq, & Davern!
Extra further Info – The UFAs this year was pretty special. Seven went on to have a Pro Bowl season. The QB is Tony Romo, who has had a better career than any of the QBs selected in the draft, even #1 overall pick Carson Palmer. The UFA RB Fred Jackson was arguably better than any drafted RB with the exception of Willis McGahee. Aside from Jason Witten and possibly Dallas Clark, no drafted TE came even close to the talent of UFA Antonio Gates. Finally, the Redskins signed a DE as a UFA by the name of Chris Clemons, a new rotational DE for the 2014 Jacksonville Jaguars!!!
– Round 1 (C+) / Round 2 (A+) / Round 3 (B) / Round 4 – (C) / Round 5 (No Score) / Round 6 – (F) / Round 7 (F). Totaling their entire draft, the Jaguars’ 2003 NFL draft scored a (C). That score is once again very depressing when you realise how much higher the grade would have been without the final two round’s failures. Shack Harris scored pretty well on his first draft. He gave Jack Del Rio some new toys to play with. The Jags still haven’t manage to put together a complete draft yet. Maybe next year!
I will be back soon with the 2004 draft.
See ya in 2004!
Michael Mcdonald
Follow me on Twitter @gumbussy. I’ll make ya famous!