JACKSONVILLE – This one surprised the Jaguars in the best way possible.
The Jaguars came close to selecting Rashad Greene early in Round 4. When they didn't, they figured they had lost a player they really, really liked entering Day Three of the 2015 NFL Draft.
They were wrong.
To their surprise, Greene was available early in Round 5 Saturday afternoon, when the Jaguars used the No. 139 selection on the productive wide receiver from Florida State University.
"I'm just thrilled for us to have him and for him to be here," Jaguars wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan said shortly after the selection.
Greene, an All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, said being selected in Round 5 didn't bother him – and he said he actually felt it was destiny to be selected by the Jaguars. Greene visited Jacksonville for a pre-draft visit two weeks ago.
"Talking to my father about the visit I had, I told him, 'I could see myself in Jacksonville,''' Greene said. "It's been put into play. I'm where I truly wanted to be. Now, it's time to take advantage of the opportunity."
Greene added, "I have a good feeling about this. It's going to be a tremendous ride."
The Jaguars considered taking Greene at No. 104 in Round 4, instead choosing Louisville safety James Sample. Jaguars director of college scouting Kyle O'Brien said the team had the players rated very closely.
"He has the traits both off the field and on the field on that we're looking for," O'Brien said of Greene. "We feel very fortunate to be able to get him in the fifth round."
O'Brien was asked if the Jaguars were "stunned" Greene was available.
"Yes," he said. "We truly were."
Greene (5-feet-10, 182 pounds) played all four seasons at FSU, and O'Brien said while he fits as a potential slot receiver, he also can compete for time on the outside. He also could compete for the team's punt returner role.
"Wherever I'm needed, I'm ready to go full-speed ahead," he said.
Greene had more than 1,000 yards receiving each of the past two seasons, catching 99 passes for 1,365 yards and seven touchdowns this past season and 76 passes for 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior. Greene had 15 100-yard receiving games in college.
"When they needed a big play, Rashad was usually the one who produced it for them," O'Brien said. "That's been his whole career. It really has been.
Greene was a first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection as a senior, but statistics and honors aren't all the Jaguars like about him. O'Brien called Greene "an old soul who loves football."
"A lot of kids in college play the game because they like it and they're told that it's what they're good at," O'Brien said. "Rashad loves the game of football and he approaches it that way."
O'Brien said a question Jaguars scouts ask when meeting with college players is what college teammate they would bring with them to give their NFL team the best chance to win a Super Bowl. O'Brien said nearly every FSU player answered Greene.
"Their answer after that was because he does it the right way," O'Brien said.
Sullivan said he connected with Greene at the NFL Scouting Combine, meeting with the receiver in a hectic environment early in the week. Sullivan said he was impressed by Greene, calling him a "humble guy in this time of divas."
"I was impressed with his demeanor and how he handled himself," Sullivan said.
He was equally impressed when he returned to Jacksonville to watch tape of Greene, saying that Greene played with aggressiveness and fearlessness when running routes across the middle. Sullivan also called Greene "very instinctive" as a route runner.
"I think he'll be a guy who will be very coachable," Sullivan said.
Greene said as much as it felt like destiny to play for the Jaguars, it also felt that way to play for Sullivan, widely considered one of the league's top receivers coaches.
"He was the first person to approach me in Indy, and now he's my position coach," Greene said. "I'm just excited about the whole thing, being able to work with a guy like him."
