The Jaguars missed on some picks but this grade reflects the homerun they hit in the second round with “little” Maurice Drew.  Here is a breakdown of their draft:

1st round pick Mercedes Lewis was a little disappointing for the Jaguars.  With the team weak at WR they tried to get a good pass catching TE to give them more options in the passing game, but it didn’t work out well for them.  Lewis played in 15 games (3 starts) and he only caught 13 passes for 126 yards (9.7 avg) with 1 TD catch.

2nd round pick Maurice Drew had an awesome rookie season.  He touched the ball 244 times this season and amassed 2,250 yards for a average of 9.2 yards every time his hands touched the football.  He played in all 16 games (1 start) and he carried the ball 166 times for 941 yards (5.7 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He also caught 46 passes for 436 yards (9.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Drew also returned 31 kickoffs for 860 yards (27.7 avg) and returned one of them for a touchdown.  He also returned 1 punt for 13 yards.  Drew will be the main man as soon as Fred Taylor leaves or retires.

3rd round pick OLB Clint Ingram wound up also being a good pick.  With all the injuries to the linebacking corps, he got a chance to show what he can do.  He played in 14 games and made 71 tackles, 1.5 sacks, an interception and defensed two passes.  He looks like a starter for the stout Jaguars defense.

5th round pick DE Brent Hawkins also looks like a keeper.  He played in 6 games and made 9 tackles and had 2 sacks.

7th round pick DE James Wyche didn’t play a single down this season.

The Jaguars other 7th round pick, Demetrice Webb, played well enough to stick around next season.  He played in 11 games and made 17 tackles, had an interception and defended a pass.

The Jaguars didn’t have much of a passing game so they relied on their running backs to do the heavy lifting on the offense.  Fred Taylor is the veteran warhorse of the Jaguars offense.  He started 15 games this season and carried the ball 231 times for 1,146 yards (5.0 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 23 passes for 242 yards (10.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  For his career, Taylor has played in 112 games (108 starts) and he carried the ball 2,062 times for 9,513 yards (4.6 ypc) with 56 TD runs.  He also caught 261 passes for 2,205 yards (8.4 avg) with 8 TD catches.

Maurice Drew had an awesome rookie year for the Jaguars.  He played in all 16 games (1 start) and carried the ball 166 times for 941 yards (5.7 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  He also caught 46 passes for 436 yards (9.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Alvin Pearman got a few of the scraps from the table in the running game.  He played in 13 games and carried the ball 19 times for 89 yards (4.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 12 yards (6.0 avg).  For his career, Pearman has played in 29 games and carried the football 58 times for 238 yards (4.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also has caught 34 passes for 252 yards (7.4 avg).

Rich Alexis appeared in 1 game and carried the ball 3 times for 5 yards (1.7 ypc).

Derrick Wimbush played mostly on special teams.  He played in 12 games (6 starts) and carried the ball 1 time for 3 yards.  He also caught 4 passes for 23 yards (5.8 avg).  For his career, Wimbush has played in 26 games (7 starts) and has carried the ball 4 times for 15 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also has caught 9 passes for 49 yards (5.4 avg).

Jack Del Rio had a rough season as the Jaguars finished 8-8 on the season.  The season began with high hopes but ended badly.  The Jags also got swept by the Houston Texans and that is inexcusable.  Del Rio has compiled a 34-30 (53.1%) with the Jags and is 0-1 in the playoffs.  Del Rio will have to do a good job in 2007 to keep his job past next season.

The Jaguars are three deep in decent QBs, but will one of them step up and seize the starting job.  David Garrard had his big chance after Byron Leftwich went down after the first 6 games of the season.  Garrard played in 11 games (10 starts) and he completed 145 of 241 passes (60.2%) for 1,735 yards with 10 TD passes and 9 interceptions.  He had a rating of 80.5 this season.  Garrard also is a good running QB as he ran the ball 47 times for 250 yards (5.3 ypc).  For his career, Garrard has played in 28 games (18 starts) and has completed 313 of 539 passes (58.1%) for 3,543 yards with 18 TD passes and 13 interceptions.  His career QB rating is 78.9.  He also has run the ball 115 times in his career for 637 yards (5.5 ypc) with 6 rushing TDs.

Byron Leftwich was the starter going into the season but he will be in a dogfight to keep his starting gig in Jacksonville.  Leftwich started in 6 games this season and he completed 108 of 183 passes (59%) for 1,159 yards with 7 TD passes and 5 interceptions (79.0 QB rating).  He also carried the football 25 times for 41 yards (1.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  For his career, Leftwich has played in 46 games (44 starts) and he completed 789 of 1,344 passes (58.7%) for 9,042 yards with 51 TD passes and 36 interceptions (80.5 career QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 120 times for 364 yards (3.0 ypc) with 8 TD runs.

Quinn Gray played in 2 games this season and he completed 13 of 22 passes (59.1%) for 166 yards (82.8 QB rating).  He also carried the ball 2 times for 26 yards (13.0 ypc) and both carries were for TDs!  For his career, Gray has played in 3 games (no starts) and completed 21 of 36 passes (58.3%) for 266 yards with 2 TDs (100.0 career QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 5 times for 27 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.