Our comrades over at Touchdown Wire seem to never sleep and work just as hard as we do at Jags Wire. One of their latest articles that has caught the eyes of many is a post where they looked around the league for the 45 worst first-round picks since 2010.
Of course, every team had at least one player on the list, but the Jags sadly had six. Those players were Blaine Gabbert, Justin Blackmon, Luke Joeckel, Blake Bortles, Dante Fowler Jr. and Leonard Fournette.
In starting with Gabbert, there aren’t many Jags fans out there who would dispute him making the list. Additionally, former coach Jack Del Rio recently revealed that he didn’t even know Gabbert was going to be the Jags first-round pick in 2011, and that he didn’t even grade the Missouri quarterback as a first-round pick. He started in 27 of 48 games and was 5-22 in the process, while finishing his career as a Jag with a completion percentage of 53.3 (414-of-777) for 4,357 passing yards 22 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
As most are aware, Blackmon’s off-the-field issues are what kept him from filling his potential. He was supposed to be Gabbert’s No. 1 receiver, however, he only played in 18 games and caught 93 passes in the process.
Like Blackmon, Joeckel is no longer in the league. He last had a run with the Seattle Seahawks in 2017, but hasn’t received much interest since. He was current general manager Dave Caldwell’s first-ever selection as the Jags’ head man, however, most would agree the second overall pick of 2013 could’ve been better used. Instead, he could’ve had offensive tackle Lane Johnson, who has been a solid offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bortles is a player who didn’t live up to his selection either, but I’d definitely say Derrick Harvey should’ve made the list over him. The Jags at least got a run to the AFC Championship out of Bortles, although he never developed into the veteran quarterback most hoped for. He ultimately exited Jacksonville with 73 starts, which is great, but he also had a career completion percentage of 59.3, threw a whopping 75 picks and had a record of 24-49.
Fowler is also a player who didn’t live up to his selection, but he certainly didn’t deserve to make the list over Harvey. Harvey may have finished with more career starts for the Jags (32), but Fowler finished with almost double the amount of sacks (14) as Harvey, who only had eight. Additionally, Fowler missed his rookie season with an ACL tear so it’s possible his career with the Jags took a hit as a result, while Harvey was healthier but less productive in getting to the quarterback.
As for Fournette, the verdict is to be determined on him. However, his first two seasons have been a mixed bag. He had a 1,000+ yard season as a rookie and aided the Jags to become the No. 1 rushing attack, but he’s also missed nearly a full season (13 games) between injuries and disciplinary actions. Additionally, he hasn’t had a season where he’s averaged four yards per carry or more, so that is something that will need to be addressed this season, too. In a nutshell, it would appear 2019 is a make or break season for his future as a Jaguar and he has a chance to break the trend of bad first-round selections by the current regime.
