Skip to main content
Advertising

Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Weakside not a big deal

Join jaguars.com senior editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.

Jeff from Boonsboro, MD:
You're a jerk and a joke. You don't care about fans' concerns. I think with you it's all about the money, baby.

Vic: It's not all about the money. The free hot dogs are important, too.

Angelo from Brampton, Ontario:
In respect to drafting a guard, where do you think Willie Colon, Ryan O'Callaghan and Isaac Sowells would get picked?

Vic: I found Willie Colon at the bottom of a long list of guard prospects. I think the other two guys are crash dummies.

Kevin from Floral Park, NY:
Since this is a young man's game, which I agree it is, do you feel the Jaguars should have kept Keenan McCardell and maybe gotten rid of an older receiver?

Vic: It wasn't about age, it was about salary.

Carol from Phoenix, AZ:
What medical equipment do franchises have on-site and is this available for both home and visiting teams?

Vic: Teams are required to have in their stadium an x-ray machine to be used by both teams. Any other medical equipment on-site is per the home team's choice and doesn't have to be shared.

John from Mason City, IA:
Vic, you are a Jaguars sellout. You are telling every Jags fan we should pass up on Lavar Arrington and we did. So, now, instead of having a tremendous talent at outside linebacker we have nothing. Since you're a Jags football god, tell us what great player is going to fill that void left at outside linebacker, instead of Arrington?

Vic: I'm not worried about it.

James from Kamloops, BC:
I agree about Ray Lewis having a worn-down body, but let me throw another name at you: Donnie Edwards. Still too old?

Vic: Everybody needs to chill out on this pressing need at linebacker. Weakside linebacker is not a premium position. Of the three linebacker positions, it is the least important and the easiest to fill. In fact, it may be the easiest position on the whole defense to fill.

Stuart from St Louis, MO:
Who's your best sleeper pick of all-time in the draft? I'd say the 199th pick of the 2000 draft, Tom Brady.

Vic: He wasn't my sleeper pick but, yes, Brady has to be the best sixth-round pick of all-time. I had a good sleeper pick last year: Rob Petitti.

Ben from Christchurch, New Zealand:
With 40-yard times seemingly being so important to WRs and RBs, is there really a big difference between, say, a 4.3 and a 4.5?

Vic: Let's put it this way: If 4.5 is covering 4.3 and 4.3 catches the ball a step beyond 4.5, it's a touchdown. If 4.3 is covering 4.5 and 4.5 catches the ball a step beyond 4.3, let's go to the next play.

Mark from Rochester, NY:
I know you don't believe in spending huge amounts of money on one free agent, but if there was one player out there you would spend almost anything to get, who would that player be?

Vic: There is no player on whom I would spend almost anything to get because that means the money I spent on that player would forbid me to provide him a capable supporting cast without mortgaging my team's future. Either way, that player is going to hold you hostage.

Kyle from Charleston, IL:
If Antonio Cromartie is still on the board when Jacksonville selects, do you think they would take him?

Vic: Depending who else was available, yeah, they would take him. The Jaguars love him, but he's not going to be available. He has satisfied concerns about his knee and he's moved up the board. If something happens that he does fall, he won't fall past the Giants at 25.

Jordan from Lincoln, NE:
In your article you brought up the fact the Jags only have six picks. The pick they are missing is in the seventh round. Is that really that big of a deal?

Vic: It's a big deal if the player you would've picked in the seventh round is Bobby McCray or Rob Meier. It's a big deal if having more picks is better than having fewer picks. It's a big deal if you want to trade up and need extra picks to do it.

Rory from Chestertown, MD:
If Manny Lawson was to the fall to the Jags, would they be interested? He's not a great fit for a 4-3 but he's a freakish athlete.

Vic: Manny Lawson can be tailored to fit in any defense. The Jaguars have a high regard for him and he's one of the players they'd love to see fall to them. Lawson is an undersized defensive end with big-time pass-rush potential. Jack Del Rio and Mike Smith had Peter Boulware in Baltimore and I imagine they each envision Lawson being their Boulware in Jacksonville. Lawson could be used as a hand-on-the-ground pass-rush specialist, or as a stand-up pass-rusher coming from a linebacker position. If Lawson were to fall, he could become that weakside linebacker, in a creative way, of course.

Brady from Richmond, VA:
So wouldn't you say it's safe to say nobody knows what the Jaguars are actually going to do in the first round of the draft?

Vic: We don't know specifically what they're thinking, but I don't think I'd be too far off if I said they have a wish list of, say, four players they'd love to have fall to them. I think they'd love for Chad Greenway, Antonio Cromartie, LenDale White or Manny Lawson to fall to them. Then I think there's a group of several players who would be likely candidates to be there or in the neighborhood at pick 28. They're players such as Marcedes Lewis, DeAngelo Williams, Leonard Pope, DeMeco Ryans and Tamba Hali. That's as close as I can get at this time.

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.

Related Content

Advertising