JACKSONVILLE – This one was closer than you might think.
That doesn't mean it went as many Jaguars fans wanted, but hey … you can't always get what you want. But on Day 3 of the 2016 jaguars.com reader mock draft, you know what we did get?
That's right: What we need, because what we needed was to select a player for the San Diego Chargers with the No. 3 overall selection in this reader mock – and after an even, well-thought-out debate, we very definitely got that.
And for the first time in this reader mock, a defensive player went off the board.
That was expected on this day. With the Tennessee Titans having selected Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil No. 1 overall in this mock, and with North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz gone to the Cleveland Browns, it felt time for a defensive player.
Ohio State edge rusher Joey Bosa, Oregon defensive end DeForest Buckner, UCLA linebacker Myles Jack, Florida State cornerback/safety Jalen Ramsey …
Those were the elite defensive players still on the board, and from that that group it seemed likely that the reader mockers would select a player for the Chargers.
They did, though the first player considered was … well, barely considered.
"Joey Bosa," reader/mocker draining3threes wrote. "Best player in the draft, easily. Chargers need just as much help in the Front 7 as they do in the secondary. Then again, maybe I'm just hoping they pass on Ramsey and Jack so one is available at 5."
Yeah, probably – and whatever the truth behind draining3threes' selection, he was flying solo on the Bosa plane. The most common planes belonged to Ramsey and Buckner, who quickly were established as Day 3 front-runners.
Buckner, a player many national analysts have mocked to San Diego, was a favorite.
"Teams looking at a defensive rebuild usually focus on the line first," reader mocker Ban Hammer wrote. "Buckner is a great fit for them on the DL, so that's who they take."
Reader/mocker Michael Weis agreed, but he wasn't exactly fired up about it.
"Let's be honest: if Bosa and Ramsey go in the next two picks then the discussion on what the Jags are going to do at No. 5 gets boring," Weis wrote. "So, therefore in the interest of keeping No. 5 interesting and without really going out on a limb … the Chargers take Buckner because we don't care."
We can only assume *someone *cared; we did get people participating on Day 3 after all. One of those participants was reader/mocker jfilo, who had the gumption to stick to what he believed.
"Been hearing Buckner in this spot since mocks began this season," jfilo wrote. "I have no reason to change that now. Buckner."
And indeed it's true that Buckner has been mocked to the Chargers quite a bit. The problem for Jaguars fans, many of whom very much want Ramsey over Buckner and all others, is that Ramsey has been mocked to San Diego a whole lot, too.
Ramsey actually has been mentioned for all selections in this draft, but – spoiler alert – never quite as much as he has been at No. 3.
"I think he may be gone before this, but since he is still here in this mock draft, the Chargers get lucky and have the best player in the draft fall to them at 3," reader/mocker Bruce Wayne wrote. "Jalen Ramsey comes off the board. [Former Chargers safety] Weddle who?"
Reader/mocker Fred Barnes wasn't very nice at all.
"The Chargers secondary is garbage," he wrote. "They just kicked Weddle to the curb, and they've been searching for cornerback help for years now with very little luck. I just can't see them passing on Ramsey. I actually see their GM praying that Ramsey falls to them.
Reader/mocker Lewis Trammell was the succinct-est of all.
"Until a team picks Ramsey, it has to be Ramsey," he wrote.
While it doesn't technically "have" to be anyone, for the purposes of this mock draft it indeed is Ramsey. That means after three days the 2016 jaguars.com reader mock looks like:
1.Tennessee | Laremy Tunsil, OT, Ole Miss
2.Cleveland | Carson Wentz, QB, North Dakota State
3.San Diego | Jalen Ramsey, CB/S, Florida State
That brings us to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 4. It's tempting to go quarterback here, but not tempting enough to keep us from projecting that they instead will take Bosa. That leaves us one day from the Jaguars' selection, but we can wait a few hours for that. For now …
Have at it.
