Jacksonville Jaguars continue trend of draft steals with Sheldon Day in the 4th round
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a knack for finding contributors in the later rounds – Sheldon Day might be the next draft steal.
The Jacksonville Jaguars received high praise from analysts for their haul in the 2015 NFL Draft for several reasons. They managed to find an impact defender in the first round with Dante Fowler Jr., snagged an every down back in T.J. Yeldon, and got a starter along the offensive line in A.J. Cann.
Even with all that, they might have received the most effusive praise for taking Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Bennett in the 6th round. Why? Well many thought Bennett had a shot at being selected in the second round, but he fell due to lack of scheme versatility. Luckily for the Jaguars, Bennett was ideal as a 3-technique tackle and he fit perfectly into their rotation.
The Jaguars are likely to receive similar feedback for selecting Sheldon Day in the 4th round of the 2016 Draft.
The folks in the analytics community love it, including Sam Monson over at Pro Football Focus.
I love Sheldon Day. That's a freaking steal for the Jags. I'd have taken him low in the 1st round. Jaguars having a hell of a draft.
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) April 30, 2016
Tony Khan, noted analytics guru of the Jaguars, pointed out that Day was the best defensive tackle in college football last year by advanced metrics.
Fourth round @Jaguars draft pick Sheldon Day from Notre Dame was graded by @PFF as the best defensive tackle in college football in 2015.
— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) April 30, 2016
Pro Football Focus had even more to say on their website:
"Jacksonville gets a disruptive interior defender in Day, who ranked 34th on our draft board. Day’s 2015 overall grade ranked behind only DeForest Buckner and his 10.4 pass rushing productivity ranked sixth in the class."
Ranked 34th means they had Day as a solid 2nd round pick.
The Jaguars didn’t have a drastic need at defensive tackle heading into the draft, but they decided it was hard to pass up on yet another top 50 talent in the 4th round. The Jaguars have now added help at basically every level of the defense. With a few more picks left, the Jaguars can try to look for a few more draft gems to store on the shelf.