Draft analyst Tony Pauline is moving guys up and other guys down his draft board, and he has defensive ends Quentin Groves and Phillip Merling (pictured) available to the Jaguars with pick number 26.
"I'm going to say Groves. I think he'll be there," Pauline said in predicting the Jaguars' choice. "His playing weight is 250 pounds but he can probably add 20 pounds. He'll be a speed rusher initially. They may have a chance at Phillip Merling. That would be an outstanding pick for them."
Pauline serves as jaguars.com's draft analyst and he was asked on Monday to provide a player evaluations update.
"My top five right now are Darren McFadden, Chris Long, Jake Long, Vernon Gholston and Glenn Dorsey," Pauline said.
Quarterback Matt Ryan was once considered a candidate to be the first pick of the draft, but Pauline believes Ryan's decision not to participate in the Senior Bowl and to not work out at the combine has hurt him.
"It disqualified him from being the first pick of the draft. Brady Quinn did the same thing. It does not bode well with scouts and it shouldn't," Pauline said.
The following are Pauline's updated position rankings, including comments on those players rising or falling:
Quarterback—Ryan, Brian Brohm, Joe Flacco, Chad Henne, Andre Woodson.
Running back—McFadden, Rashard Mendenhall, Jonathan Stewart, Felix Jones, Chris Johnson.
Wide receiver—Devin Thomas, James Hardy, Limas Sweed, DeSean Jackson, Andre Caldwell.
"Malcolm Kelly is dropping. He ran high 4.6s, low 4.7s and then was blaming the school. He's supposed to run again. Jackson is dropping due to off-the-field concerns," Pauline said.
Tight end—Fred Davis, Kellen Davis, Martellus Bennett, Dustin Keller, Craig Stevens.
Offensive tackle—Jake Long, Ryan Clady, Chris Williams, Jeff Otah, Gosder Cherilus.
"Sam Baker is dropping hard. He had a bad workout at the USC pro day; ran in the 5.5's," Pauline said of the Southern Cal tackle.
Guard—Branden Albert, Jeremy Zuttah, Eric Young, Roy Schuening, Oneil Cousins.
"Albert is zipping up draft boards. He could go in the first 12 picks. He's big, athletic and people think he can play left tackle," Pauline said of the Virginia offensive lineman.
Center—Mike Pollak, John Sullivan.
Defensive tackle—Glenn Dorsey, Sedrick Ellis, Dre Moore, Kentwan Balmer, Trevor Laws.
Defensive end—Chris Long, Derrick Harvey, Phillip Merling, Quentin Groves, Lawrence Jackson.
"Calais Campbell is dropping hard," Pauline said of the Miami defensive end, who had a bad junior season and followed that with a poor combine workout. "His pro day wasn't good, either," Pauline added.
Outside linebacker—Gholston, Keith Rivers, Dan Connor, Cliff Avril, Curtis Lofton.
Inside linebacker—Jerod Mayo, Jonathan Goff, Phillip Wheeler, Beau Bell, Ben Moffitt.
Cornerback—Mike Jenkins, Leodis McKelvin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Aqib Talib, Justin King.
"The widest variety of opinion is at cornerback," Pauline said.
Safety—Kenny Phillips, Tyrell Johnson, DaJuan Morgan, Thomas DeCoud, Josh Barrett.
"Johnson is zipping up boards. He was fast at the combine and showed exceptional ball skills at his pro day. He has moved from the third round into, possibly, the bottom of the first round," Pauline said.
The following is Pauline's mock draft for the first 10 picks:
- Miami—Jake Long
- St. Louis—Chris Long
- Atlanta—Glenn Dorsey
- Oakland—Darren McFadden
- Kansas City—Matt Ryan
- Jets—Vernon Gholston
- New England—Leodis McKelvin
- Baltimore—Aqib Talib
- Cincinnati—Sedrick Ellis
- New Orleans—Ryan Clady
