Chad Nkang was a linebacker at tiny Elon University but he will likely convert to strong safety in the pros because he’s probably too small to play linebacker.  Nkang is 5′11″, 216 pounds but he runs a 4.44 40.  He also looked in college like he will be able to handle defending the pass in the pros.  Nkang played in 33 games on defense at Elon and he made 414 tackles, had 8.5 sacks, 49.5 tackles for a loss, forced 3 fumbles, recovered 7 fumbles, broke up 3 passes and had 2 interceptions (54 return yards, 1 TD).  Nkang will probably be a special teams player as a rookie and possibly more than that in the future.

The Jaguars need help at WR so John Broussard will get a chance to show what he’s got in Training Camp.  Broussard is 6′0″, 185 pounds which is a little on the small side but he runs a 4.43 40.  If he can get off the line of scrimmage and beat the jam, he could be a surprise for the Jaguars.  He played in 13 games at San Jose State last season and he caught 52 passes for 844 yards (16.2 avg) with 7 TD catches.  He also carried the football 3 times for 16 yards (5.3 ypc).  This was a nice low risk/high reward pick for the Jaguars.

Derek Landri is undersized for a defensive tackle but he’s very fast off of the ball which makes up somewhat for the size disadvantage he will face in the pros.  Landri plays hard every down and he’s a sure tackler.  He often gets pushed around when double teamed.  Landri is 6′2″, 282 pounds which explains why he has some problems inside.  He played in 47 games (38 starts) at Notre Dame and he made 161 tackles, had 34.5 tackles for a loss, 10.5 sacks, batted down 8 passes, forced a fumble and recovered 2 fumbles.  Look for Landri to be a backup for the Jaguars.

Josh Gattis was a nice pick by the Jaguars.  If they can toughen him up he might start alongside first round pick Reggie Nelson at some point in his career.  Gattis is 6′1″, 206 pounds and he’s fast as he can run a 4.4 40.  Still, he has to do a better job of making tackles in the open field and defend the run with a little more vigor.  He played in 47 games (33 starts) at Wake Forest and he made 259 tackles, broke up 19 passes, had 12 interceptions (169 return yards), forced 6 fumbles and recovered 5 fumbles.  Look for Gattis to play on most of the special teams and be a backup as a rookie.  But Gattis has nice upside and was a good pick in the 5th round.

The Jacksonville Jaguars got a nice player here that slid a little bit in the draft because of his 2005 suspension by Purdue University for slugging a teammate.  The Boilermaker coaches said that the University made a mistake and that it wasn’t that big of a deal.  Nwaneri is a little bit of a project as he played in a wide open offense at Purdue so he’s a better pass blocker than a run blocker right now.  Still, at 6′2″, 304 pounds and with a nasty attitude the Jaguars coaches should be able to mold him into a good run blocker.  He played in 29 games (26 starts) at Purdue and he was suspended for the entire 2005 season so he would have started that season too if he behaved himself.  Nwaneri will likely be a backup as a rookie and a starter in future for the Jaguars.