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Todd McShay 2015 NFL Mock Draft: Jaguars Pick Amari Cooper

By Luke Sims

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Todd McShay put out his latest 2015 NFL Mock Draft (version 4.0) today and has the Jacksonville Jaguars shaking things up a bit by bringing in stalwart receiver Amari Cooper.

Cooper would be a great addition to the Jaguars, bolstering a young receiving corps that outperformed expectations in 2014 and are looking to build on their young careers in 2015. Cooper could immediately come in and elevate that group even more. Allen Hurns, Allen Robinson, and Marqise Lee all flashed in their rookie years, with the free agent addition of Julius Thomas and the addition of a receiving threat like Cooper, the Jaguars would be in very solid shape for quarterback Blake Bortles.

Here’s a snippet of what Todd McShay had to say about the Jags’ picking Amari Cooper instead of DT Leonard Williams who is still on the board in his draft:

"Could they still take Williams? Absolutely. He’d be a great fit in head coach Gus Bradley’s scheme and would give the Jags a talented, versatile and deep rotation along the defensive front in a division that includes Andrew Luck. But they could also add a true No. 1 receiver for second-year QB Blake Bortles in the hopes of giving him the best chance to succeed. That’s what Cooper is, as he is as polished a WR prospect as you’ll see coming out of college, with tremendous savvy as a route-runner and very good separation skills, ball skills and big-play ability."

I love the Jaguars getting aggressive and adding a guy like Cooper. It’s the same thing they did in 2012 when they brought in Justin Blackmon and it’s exciting to think of the Jaguars adding true weapons that could evolve into some of the best players in the game. The Blackmon gamble hasn’t paid off (yet) but the team shouldn’t be wary of taking another chance at wide receiver. Cooper would be the first wide receiver drafted in the first round for the Jaguars under GM Dave Caldwell.

You have to wonder that if the Jaguars do draft Amari Cooper whether they have completely moved on from Justin Blackmon. Blackmon had some seriously explosive games during his time on the field and it would be great to have that proven explosiveness back. If he did return, would he be redundant or would he make Cooper redundant? Cooper is a polished receiver, as noted by McShay, but I’m not certain he has that same level of explosiveness and ability to utterly dominate a game that Blackmon had/has.

We’ll have to wait and see on that situation.

For now, it’s nice just to get a fresh take on the Jaguars’ third overall selection in a 2015 NFL Mock Draft which tend to lean toward Dante Fowler Jr. or Leonard Williams (when available).

Next: Will Vic Beasley be Drafted before Randy Gregory?

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