Brian Smith was a big reach for the Jaguars in the 4th round.  He wasn’t projected to get drafted by many draft “experts”.  Smith was a very disruptive player at Missouri as a DE, but he is way too small to play there in the Pros.  He will be converted to OLB and that could cause problems as Smith has no experience covering running backs or tight ends on pass plays.  He has good size 6′3″, 239 pounds and he’s fast enough (4.65 40) to handle outside linebacker.  Smith played in 44 games (29 starts) for Missouri and he made 159 tackles, 42.5 tackles for a loss, had 31.5 sacks, recovered 1 fumble, forced 9 fumbles, had 1 interception and batted down 12 passes.

The Jaguars have re-signed restricted free agent DE Bobby McCray to a 1-year contract.  McCray just keeps getting better every season in the NFL so it’s scary to think of what he might be able to do this season.  He played in 15 games last year and he made 35 tackles, had 10 sacks, defensed 2 passes and forced 2 fumbles.  Over McCray’s 3-year NFL career, he has played in 47 games and he’s made 75 tackles, has 19 sacks, defensed 4 passes, forced 6 fumbles and he has recovered 1 fumble.

The Jaguars shockingly released safety Donovin Darius yesterday.  Darius played in 10 games last season and he made 48 tackles and defensed 3 passes.  Darius has been banged up the last two seasons but the Jaguars could have treated one of the best defensive players in team history a little better than they did at the end.  Darius played in 9 seasons for the Jaguars and he made 614 tackles, had 2 sacks, intercepted 14 passes (189 return yards), defensed 35 passes, forced 8 fumbles and recovered 6 fumbles (one returned for a TD).

The Jacksonville Jaguars wanted to go in a new direction at punter so they drafted Adam Podlesh in the 4th round.  He doesn’t have the most powerful leg but he never seems to outkick his coverage.  In 48 games at Maryland, Podlesh punted the ball 216 times for 9,314 yards (43.1 avg) and his long punt was 70 yards.  He also pinned the opposing team inside the 20 yard line 83 times (38.4%).  Look for Podlesh to improve the Jaguars punting unit from Day #1.