The Jaguars aren't changing up their evaluation style, despite picking much later than the team has in recent years.
Jaguars Executive VP of Football Operations Tom Coughlin and General Manager Dave Caldwell said the draft process has remained the same as last offseason. The front office tandem and head coach Doug Marrone met with the media on Friday to discuss their unwavering approach to the annual event and the 29th overall pick.
"The process has stayed the same," Caldwell said.
"Obviously, we'll look at - we'll still have our target of five to six guys we like there [at No. 29] - and we'll prepare for the one or two guys who we think have a chance of falling and hopefully we get one of the guys that we target there. You still always have that cluster of a few players there that you're going to target. You can pretty much account that there will be 15-20 that are going to be gone."
Coughlin and Caldwell are leading a scouting department that produced franchise-altering picks like Leonard Fournette and Cam Robinson last offseason. Open communication has remained a constant during this year's process, as the team looks to build on its previous run to the AFC Championship Game.
"There's input from everybody, whether it's scouts or coaches," Coughlin said.
"There's constant evaluating of players, starting at the beginning of the season, for example, running all the way through to the draft. The efficiency of the operation - in my opinion - has always been good, not only last year but this year. Now certainly this year, we know a little bit more about each other, and that always helps, but it has not in anyway been able to speed up the way in which the evaluation process is done."
Following free agency, the Jaguars feel like they've set themselves up well for the draft. The team took care of several needs with a tempered shopping spree in March and now they have plenty of options heading into next week's selection process.
"I think what's unique about us this year is we've tried to make it as seamless as possible for us, where we can line up tomorrow if we had to," Caldwell said.
"You guys have been around us where we didn't even have guys to line up with at this point in time in the year. My first year here, we had to draft four rookies and I think all four started in the secondary that year. That's not an ideal situation, now we're in a situation where we can really just take the best player available."
Jacksonville wants strength, power, and athleticism on O-Line
The Jaguars are likely to add depth to their offensive line in this year's draft. With a looming future need at right tackle - and possibly right guard - the Jaguars could pull the trigger early at either position.
With college football's infatuation with the spread offense, linemen evaluations have become a bit more difficult for scouting departments. College teams are passing more, offering fewer opportunities to evaluate run blocking.
As with everything in the draft, a scouting department's projection prowess is vital when it comes to drafting an offensive lineman.
"I think it's gotten a little bit more difficult obviously, but you still have your standards by which you're operating," Coughlin said.
"There may be some questions but you're trying like to heck to answer them all and wherein you might have seen people that we're 50-50 run and pass, that no longer is the case, so you have to really zoom in."
Caldwell and Coughlin are looking for prospects who can fit into the Jaguars' scheme, which features a good portion of run blocking. The front office duo has a clear understanding of what they want in an offensive lineman heading into the draft.
"Well, you have to evaluate the talent, the traits first," Caldwell said.
"Once you look at the traits, then you try to implant those traits into your system. What we look for is big guys with strength and power and athleticism. If they have that, then we feel like we have a really good coaching staff that can train them, regardless of what scheme they played in college. Everyone is going to have an adjustment factor coming into the NFL anyway, but as long as they have the traits and they're smart and competitive and tough and they can adapt, then we feel like the scheme they played in college shouldn't make a huge difference."
Marrone also knows what he is looking for when it comes to offensive linemen who may need to switch positions in the NFL. College offensive tackles like Oregon's Tyrell Crosby or Georgia's Isaiah Wynn may be asked to move inside to guard because of their physical traits.
Marrone has specific preferences for players moving into the middle of the offensive line.
"I think there's numbers that when you look back at good guards, there's certain height [and] weight restrictions," Marrone said.
"I think you kind of go [into that] but each player is their own a lot of times. I think people get nervous - if you're 6-6, 6-7 - going in there, playing guard. I think it's something that just depends on how you're built. I tend to like to like people with shorter legs, 32-34 inseam. Things like that but overall, if you talk to any line coach or anyone that's done that position for a long time, they'll be different things you look for or critical areas."
Marrone said he developed his preferences for certain offensive line positions early in his career. When Marrone worked as an offensive line coach for the New York Jets, legendary executive Dick Haley would give him advice on scouting offensive line talent.
The Jaguars head coach said he typically watches three or four games to evaluate an offensive lineman. He likes watching the lineman's progress through an entire game.
Marrone also likes to watch the linemen against big school talent and small school talent to check for any inconsistencies.
MORE NEWS AND NOTES
- The Jaguars have not made a decision on fourth-year defensive end Dante Fowler's fifth-year option. The team has until early May to make a decision. Caldwell said the team will meet after next week's NFL Draft to discuss the option.
"I thought he had a nice year [in 2017]," Caldwell said. "He had double-digit sacks throughout the playoffs and he's 23 years old in his second year of full-time play. He made good strides not only on the field but off the field too."
- On the surface, there seems to be at least one starting job open at linebacker. When asked about the linebacker class, Caldwell said it was a lot like the quarterback class, as there are players throughout the draft that have value. He said some of those valuable players could be just two-down linebackers, which would be fine since the team has Telvin Smith and Myles Jack for nickel situations.
"At all different levels, first round, second round, throughout the draft, there's linebackers that you can get good value out of," Caldwell said.
- Caldwell said the team would "ideally" like to have a backup running back who has similar traits to Leonard Fournette. He also said T.J. Yeldon is a good fit for the group and acknowledged Corey Grant as a change-of-pace back. Caldwell said "we'll see" regarding a potential expansion of Grant's role this season.
- Caldwell said he would "never say never" regarding UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin. He said Griffin has overcome a lot and performed well at the NFL Combine and his pro day.
- Caldwell said the Jaguars only used 26 of their Top 30 visits. The Jaguars could invite prospects from the University of Central Florida, University of Florida and Florida State University to their local workouts. Caldwell said those three schools made up 20-25 of their local visits.
The team also invited prospects who played at local high schools. South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst (Bolles School) was considered a local visit for the Jaguars. Hurst is expected to selected on Day 1 of this year's draft.
- Marrone said the tight end position has become an entity that has mostly split into two styles: blocking and receiving. That divide has made it harder for evaluators to find a complete tight end in the mold of the old-school models of the past like Jason Witten, Heath Miller and Todd Heap.
"When you're looking at the position, you have to say 'hey, this what we're looking for, this is the priority of this position,'" Marrone said.
"'We need this guy to block for us and this.' And then all of a sudden, 'hey, if we change this personnel, we need this guy to be a receiver that we can put into the slot. I always say the number one question is if you put that guy in the slot, he's got to be better than your third receiver if you're going to do that. If he's not, then people are going to look at you and say 'How come your best player is not on the field?'"
- Coughlin on Week 1 against the New York Giants:
"I don't spend any time thinking about that. We knew the teams we were going to play. We didn't know the order, so to go to New York for the opening of the season, it'll be an exciting atmosphere obviously. It's opening day, so everybody will be excited, everybody will look forward to the opportunity to go to New York and play against a very good football team."
Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter at @Mike_E_Kaye.