Jaguars' history in drafting wideouts is less than inspiring

Jaguars' history in drafting wideouts is less than inspiring
Risk and receivers

By Michael C. Wright

INDIANAPOLIS- Please, not again ... is probably the prevailing thought among Jaguars fans when pondering the possibility of the team taking yet another wide receiver in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Since the franchise entered the NFL in 1995, the Jaguars have drafted 16 receivers (none named Jimmy Smith or Keenan McCardell) without uncovering a bona fide star. Yet that could all change, should the Jags try the receiver route again this year with the No. 8 pick.

"It's a good group," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said.

It's so good that as many as six of them could be off the board by the end of the first round in April's draft. Interestingly, teams gobbled up six receivers in the first round of 2007, but shied away from the position in '08, electing not to draft a single receiver in the first round.

That changes this year, with talented receivers such as Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree, Missouri's Jeremy Maclin, Maryland's Darrius Heyward-Bey and Rutgers' Kenny Britt sitting atop the draft class, along with North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks and Percy Harvin of Florida. Surprisingly, all of the top-rated prospects are underclassmen.

It appears that all but Crabtree, who is nursing an ankle injury, will participate Sunday in the workout portion of the NFL Scouting Combine. It's unclear whether Harvin, who has a history of ankle injuries, will participate in workouts. He wasn't made available for interviews because he was still undergoing extensive medical testing from various team doctors.

The NFL allows every team's doctors to subject prospects to a comprehensive medical exam.

"If you're looking at the wide receiver list today, Crabtree and Maclin will be gone [early], probably Heyward-Bay, too," said NFL draft guru Mike Mayock, who works as an analyst for NFL Network.

Del Rio said that, ideally, the Jaguars would like to add two receivers through either the draft or free agency, which begins next week. The club used consecutive first-round picks in '04 and '05 on Reggie Williams and Matt Jones, who haven't lived up to first-round expectations.

Williams - an unrestricted free agent - won't be brought back, leaving Jones, who experienced somewhat of a resurgence last season, and Dennis Northcutt as the club's top receivers.

"We've got a lot of work to do," Del Rio said.

But the talent sitting atop this year's receiver class could make it easier, if the Jags decide to take a receiver.

Crabtree dominated the college football landscape over the past two seasons with incredible ball skills while Maclin scored 28 touchdowns during his career at Missouri, in addition to tacking on five more TDs on punt and kickoff returns.

Florida's Harvin, meanwhile, might have been college football's most dynamic player. Several scouts see Harvin as a Reggie-Bush type of playmaker, who turns short catches into home runs.

"I think it's a really heavy class if you ask me," Maclin said. "There are a lot of good names out there and a lot of good guys to choose from. You try not to get caught up into [the perception of the class having several potential first-rounders] too much, because you never know what happens on draft day.

"You take [Browns quarterback] Brady Quinn for instance not too long ago. That's something that I definitely don't want to experience."

Chances are, Maclin and most of the top-rated receiver prospects won't go through that. It appears four of the top six prospects are sure first-rounders, while two - Britt and Nicks - are teetering between the first and second rounds.

"Oh, man, I'm loving it," Britt said of his NFL combine experience.

Teams needing a top-flight receiver, like the Jags, might be feeling the same way once they're on the clock during April's draft.

http://www.jacksonville.com/sports/football/jaguars/2009-02-21/story/risk_and_receivers