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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Who'll be 'Mr. Irrelevant?'

Join jaguars.com Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.

Butch from Palatka, FL:
I was reading my morning paper, the "Palatka Daily News," about our Super Bowl bass tournament, and I was wondering if you will try your hand at bass fishing? Prior to the open tournament they will have a VIP tournament. I would really like to see you and Jeff Lageman together on a team to see if you two can win the VIP tournament, and visit the city known as the "Bass Capital of the World."

Vic: I love it. I'm gonna talk to Jeff about this. He's got a boat with fish-finding equipment on it. When we get done, there won't be a bass left in the whole town. Get us an invite and we'll accept the invitation on "Jaguars This Week."

Hicham from Dublin, OH:
In your article looking ahead to this season's schedule, you mentioned the Packers game on Dec. 19 would mark the Jags' first visit to Lambeau Field. Are there any other stadiums the Jaguars have yet to play at?

Vic: They haven't played in San Diego, either, but they'll do that this season, too. The Jaguars also haven't played in Seattle's, Denver's, Chicago's and Detroit's new stadiums, haven't played in San Francisco in the regular season, and haven't played in Philadelphia or Arizona at all.

Mike from Jacksonville:
In the second round, who do you take if these are the available guys: Lee Evans, Rashaun Woods, Reggie Williams, Michael Jenkins. I take, in this order: Evans, Woods, Williams, Jenkins. Which of these guys do you see as being available?

Vic: Lee Evans is believed to have risen into the middle of the first round. That's what speed will do for a prospect. Reggie Williams poses speed concerns and consensus of opinion is he'll be a number two receiver, but he's a big, productive pass-catcher and has been a first-round pick in every mock draft I've seen. Rashaun Woods ran better than expected and that could make him a first-round pick. Michael Jenkins is considered to be a bubble guy. He would be the most likely of the top receivers to slide into the second round. There's a great divergence of opinion on Woods and Williams. Some scouts would tell you they're possession guys and possession guys don't belong in the first round. Other scouts would tell you they're big, go-to red-zone receivers, and there's a definite trend toward big receivers. I would side with the scouts who don't believe in drafting possession receivers in the first round. In my opinion, you can get the possession guys late in the draft. But the scouts are all in agreement on one thing: This wide receiver crop lost a little luster when its top prospects didn't run as well as the scouts would've liked. That's the reason Roy Williams and Evans rose so sharply. They are the two players in this wide receiver crop who have legitimate 4.4 speed.

Daniel from Arcola, IL:
Since the Jaguars will probably draft a DE in the first round, I was wondering when it was thought a DE was in his prime? What about a WR?

Vic: A player's prime is generally considered to be between his fourth and seventh years in the league. That's true for all positions except quarterback, kicker and punter. The prime years of those players' careers tend to last a little longer.

Steve from Jacksonville:
With the 2004 draft upon us, I began to wonder: Has a "Mr. Irrelevant" ever done anything relevant in the NFL? And what became of last year's final draft choice? Thanks, love your stuff.

Vic: I don't want to do too much homework on this, but I will offer you this story because it's one of my favorites. As you might know, "Mr. Irrelevant" is the guest of Newport Beach, Calif., where he is treated as a king for one day of his life, for having been selected last in the NFL draft. It's a cute thing. Well, in the 1980 draft, the Steelers made a short, squat guard named Tyrone McGriff, from Florida A&M, the final pick of the draft, but not without some drama, first. You see, the LA Rams had the next-to-last pick, and the Rams wanted to draft "Mr. Irrelevant," for promotional purposes of having the guy honored in their market area. Well, when it came time for the Rams to pick, they passed, hoping the Steelers would make the choice and the Rams could then make the last pick. But Steelers assistant head coach George Perles, in whom Chuck Noll had entrusted the responsibility of making the final pick, knew what the Rams were trying to do, so Perles passed. It went back and forth that way a couple of times, before the Rams made their pick and the Steelers followed by selecting McGriff, who got a trip to Newport Beach and was crowned "Mr. Irrelevant." McGriff played for the Steelers for three seasons and turned out to be a much better player than you would expect from the last pick of what was then a 12-round draft, but he will always be remembered for his "Mr. Irrelevant" drama. Following the pick, we asked him what he thought about being "Mr. Irrelevant," and he had no idea what we meant. Last year's "Mr. Irrelevant" is Ryan Hoag, a wide receiver from Gustavus Adolphus, who was selected by Oakland. Hoag is not on the Raiders roster.

Joey from Jacksonville:
It has boggled my mind with the million different scenarios and ways the Jaguars can draft, and the possibility of trading up, down and Darius being traded. Do you like my draft philosophy? No matter what, do what the Jaguars did last year; don't trade any pick, and pick the best available player at each slot, no matter what position he plays.

Vic: Today's game requires some massaging of that philosophy. In the salary cap era, you can't have a disproportionate amount of money at any one position, so you have to fit your pick to your needs, which should then allow you to get away from a logjam at a position and still select the best available player. Maintaining value must always be the priority. So, if you're the Jaguars and you don't want to pick a quarterback, but a quarterback is the best available player at your pick, then you need a new place to pick and there will probably be a team willing to trade into your spot. Every team is in the same "boat," which is the reason there are so many trades. If a team wants to get out of a spot, it can usually do it.

David from Jacksonville:
In your answer to Mike you said, "If the Jaguars went for, say, Kenechi Udeze or Shawn Andrews in the first round." I may have missed it, but when did Shawn Andrews become a possible mid-first-round pick, especially for the Jags.

Vic: Shawn Andrews has never been out of the top half of my value board, or any other value board I've seen. This is a big man. He can become a dominant offensive tackle, and I don't know of a team that will turn its back on a premium big guy.

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