JACKSONVILLE – Push, push, push on through.
If there is an annual truth to the jaguars.com reader mock draft, particularly the ones that feature the Jaguars picking in the first and second round, it's that there comes a time in the draft where it's time to just put the head down and get it done.
The 2014 version reached that time in Day 12.
How do you know the pushing-through time has come? Well, having conducted reader mocks for jaguars.com for four years now, let's just say the senior writer has a feel for these things.
The niceties of the early selections are gone.
The quirky infighting? The sniping?
Gone. Gone.
Somewhere deep in the draft's netherworlds, you reach that day and get straightforward voting and selecting, and while you appreciate the sleekness and efficiency of the process, a part of you longs for the snippin' and the snipin'.
OK, maybe there wasn't a whole lot of longing going on, but with selections at Nos. 16-20 to get done on Day 12, there was actually quite a bit of consensus – certainly far more than Day 11 when Nos. 11-15 went off the board.
The consensus trend was especially evident at No. 16. While there was some chatter about the Dallas Cowboys selecting Louisiana State wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. or Missouri defensive end Kony Ealy at the selection, the vast majority agreed with the senior writer's selection of Florida State defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan.
"Too many experts agree because it makes entirely too much sense," reader/mocker Jonathan Russell wrote. "This is the guy here."
There was more disagreement at No. 17, where there were strong arguments for not only Louisville safety Calvin Pryor, but North Carolina tight end Eric Ebron. Notre Dame offensive tackle Zack Martin eventually was the selection for the Baltimore Ravens for the simple reason that reader/mocker Bubba McMillin cited:
"Ravens take Zack Martin because Zack prevents sacks."
The tally at No. 18 wasn't quite as tight, but it did have the effect of taking Ebron off the board at last. Though there was support for Southern California wide receiver Marqise Lee and Beckham, Jr., at the spot, Ebron was the selection for the Jets – and not just because he had been mentioned so often on previous days of this reader mock.
"If Geno Smith is going to have a chance, he needs a decent O-Line and some weapons," reader/mocker Tymothe Connaughton wrote.
While there was no real consensus for the Dolphins at No. 19, there was a general thought that Miami likely would go offensive line. The senior writer used his puppet-master power to select Alabama offensive tackle Cyrus Kouandjio because …
Well, just because.
"Their offensive line was gutted by the bullying scandal, and there are still a couple of big holes for them to fill along it," reader/mocker J-School Corby wrote.
Kouandjio strayed from the senior writer's original offering, and while it looked initially like the reader mockers might back the puppet master at No. 20, alas – it was not to be. That's because while Ealy was the initial offering for the Cardinals, the reader mockers were thinking quarterback in Arizona.
Namely, Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr.
"I'm subscribing to the recent noise that Arizona is taking a quarterback though they have other needs," reader/mocker Brian L. Jones wrote. "With four offensive tackles gone in our mock they take a flyer on Carr."
Consider it done, which means after 12 days and 20 selections the jaguars.com 2014 reader mock looks like:
- Houston | Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida
- St. Louis | Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
- Jacksonville | Khalil Mack, LB, Buffalo
- Cleveland | Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
- Oakland | Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
- Atlanta | Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M
- Tampa Bay | Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
- Minnesota | Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
- Buffalo | Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn
- Detroit | Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State
- Tennessee | Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA
- New York Giants | Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan
- St. Louis | Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama
- Chicago | Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh
- Pittsburgh | Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State
- Dallas | Timmy Jernigan, DT, Florida State
- Baltimore | Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame
- New York Jets | Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina
- Miami | Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama
- Arizona | Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State
All right, then …
Moving fast, and moving on, we'll offer up Alabama middle linebacker C.J. Mosley to the Green Bay Packers at No. 21, Beckham, Jr., to the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 22, Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks to the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 23, Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier to the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 24 and defensive tackle Louis Nix III to the San Diego Chargers at No. 25.
Whew. Now what? Well, now we keep pushing.
Have at it.
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Register to attend the Jaguars' 2014 Bud Light Draft Party presented by PRI here: http://www.jaguars.com/draftparty
