Join jaguars.com senior editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Marshall from Hilton Head, SC
You said that Keith Rivers might have been the top guy on the Jags’ board? Then why didn’t the Jags draft him?
Vic: The Jaguars went for need. They decided that they needed Derrick Harvey.
Malcolm from Jacksonville
There are rumors about the Jaguars going after Lito Sheppard. Please tell me this is realistic, because wow!
Vic: It’s real, baby. The Jaguars have offered the Eagles next year’s first-round pick and the sports coat Jack Del Rio wore on Monday night last season. The Eagles want it dry-cleaned. That appears to be the major stumbling block in the trade.
Joshua from Orange Park, FL
Lito Sheppard; looks like it's gonna work out before the end of the week. How will he fit in? I'd expect him and Mathis at the corners, and with Florence, Nelson and Williams we'd have on paper a very solid secondary heading into next year, right?
Vic: OK, seriously, let’s ask ourselves the question the Jaguars have to ask themselves and answer before they can make a deal for Sheppard: What are you willing to give in exchange? That’s the issue here. Sheppard’s a good player. I haven’t heard or read a knock on him, but what would you be willing to give in the way of future draft picks? It’s not just “Oh, wow! Let’s do this.” Draft picks are pieces of gold and they must be collected and treasured. They represent your team’s future and the more of them you have, the better it is. The Jaguars just traded away five picks this weekend for two players. Do you really want to keep doing that?
Matt from Raleigh, NC
Could you write Mel Kiper with your point of view on the Jaguars draft because he will not stop bashing us on ESPN.
Vic: Mel, baby, you gotta chill or you’ll start to lose your hair. How’s that?
Larry from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Regarding your last 1-32 value board: How representative was it of the war room's assessment and do you go back and evaluate your personnel rankings versus theirs? Also, will you be sharing the outcome your findings with us, the hungry masses?
Vic: The answer to your first question is no and the answer to your second question is no, but you are certainly welcome to remind me of my hits and misses.
Ben from San Diego, CA
Jaguars.com is reporting the Jags have signed Arizona State’s Rudy Burgess. Other websites are reporting that he's signed with the Colts. Which team is he actually on?
Vic: Well, his agent originally told the Jaguars Burgess would sign with them, but apparently he signed with the Colts, so they have that going for them, which is nice.
Kyle from Carbondale, IL
I noticed when the trade up to number eight was announced, the Jags didn't immediately turn in their pick, which seemed unusual. Is it possible they were talking about a secondary deal with the new pick or even had two players in mind and couldn't decide?
Vic: No, that’s not it. The guy the Jaguars sent to New York to give the commissioner the piece of paper with the pick on it had to go to the bathroom, so the Jaguars had to wait until he got done before he could turn in Derrick Harvey’s name.
John from Jacksonville
Thanks for your great draft coverage, Vic. It really bugs me when people give you a hard time.
Vic: Thank you for protecting my house, John.
Ben from Rolla, MO
How long have you been doing the value boards? I would love to see you go back and evaluate your value boards relative to their value for their team and to the league, not to where they were drafted.
Vic: Dude, you’re taking this too seriously, but if you can find the old boards then, go ahead, evaluate them and tell me if I did better or worse than Mel, or if you find any merit at all to what I did. Or, you could read a book.
Nick from Sacramento, CA
Who will have more sacks next season, Harvey or Spicer?
Vic: That’s an insightful question. Don’t count Paul Spicer out. He’s coming off the best season of his career and he’s going to be playing on a line with more pass-rush weapons this season than the Jaguars had last year.
Gabe from Jacksonville
I do not understand why the Jaguars have made no move to acquire a safety.
Vic: They’re going to sign Pierson Prioleau.
Greg from Jacksonville
I just read an article on draft maneuvering (ESPN) by Floyd Reese where he lauded Baltimore for their savvy and implied that Jacksonville was “scalped.” In his assessment, he doesn't count the swap of picks (eight for 26), only the cost of giving four picks in return for moving up. Then he advocated trading our first-round pick for Jason Taylor. Using the numeric table, the move to eight cost Jacksonville the equivalent of moving to number 13. It's widely speculated the Bengals would have taken Harvey at number nine. Call me crazy, I just don't see the “scalping.”
Vic: I absolutely will not call you crazy. I think you’ve done a very good job of breaking down the trade.
Nick from Hanover, NH
You're looking at the trades for Jared Allen and Derrick Harvey all wrong. The Jaguars did trade a first-round pick for Derrick Harvey, the 26th overall, as well as two thirds and a fourth.
Vic: Really? The difference, Nick, is that the Jaguars traded a first and got a much higher first in return. The Vikings traded a first but didn’t get one back.
Sean from Jacksonville
Here's the thing with Taylor, and I know I'm going to get destroyed for this, but Pat Kirwan and several others are not ruling out the trade for Taylor for a third-round pick that potentially becomes a second-rounder if he reaches 10 sacks.
Vic: Hey, I love that. I’m all for it because if the Jaguars did that, and if they traded their first-round pick for Sheppard, then the Jaguars would be the Browns and I might not have to come to work on draft weekend next year until the second day. Just trade, baby, trade.
Trent from Tallahassee, FL
Your response to Brett from Indy was priceless, but why do you think Indy drafted three centers? I thought Jeff Saturday was a Pro-Bowler. Is he getting old? Was that just for depth?
Vic: It’s called BAP and I applaud the Colts for employing that strategy. I was just stickin’ it to Brett a little bit. There’s nothing wrong with what the Colts did. They went for value.