The Jaguars have signed safety Pierson Prioleau.  Prioleau played in 15 games last season for the Redskins and he finished with 44 tackles.  Prioleau has now played in 111 games in his NFL career and he has made 390 tackles, defensed 28 passes, has 5.5 sacks, forced 7 fumbles and he has intercepted 1 pass.  Prioleau will give the Jags depth at safety and he will also help out on special teams.

Quentin Groves is a freak of nature because of his speed.  He is 6′3″, 249 pounds and he can run a 4.43 40!  Groves played in 49 games (22 starts) for Auburn and he made 119 tackles, 44 tackles for a loss, had 26 sacks, batted down 1 pass and he also forced 8 fumbles.  Despite being a physical specimen Groves tends to be soft against the run and Coach Del Rio will need to motivate him regularly.  Still, this was a solid pick for Jacksonville.

The Jaguars made a big move in the first round to pick DE Derrick Harvey out of Florida.  Harvey is 6′4″, 260 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40 which shows what kind of athlete he is.  Harvey played in 36 games (18 starts) at Florida and he made 91 tackles, 31 tackles for a loss, had 20.5 sacks, batted down 6 passes, forced 2 fumbles and recovered 3 fumbles.  Harvey should be a starter soon for the Jaguars and he might also convert to OLB later in his career because of his athletic ability.

The Jacksonville Jaguars added to players that will be part of the foundation for the defense for a long, long time in the first two rounds of last April’s NFL Draft.  First round pick, Reggie Nelson was a playmaker as a rookie last season.  The free safety played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Jaguars last season and he made 62 tackles, had 1 sack, forced a fumble, defensed 11 passes and had 5 interceptions.  The sky is the limit for Nelson.  Outside linebacker Justin Durant was the 2nd round pick of the Jaguars last April and he was quite a find.  Durant played in 13 games (8 starts) for the Jaguars last season and he made 49 tackles, had 1 sack, defensed 2 passes and picked one off.  He will be a starter for a long time for the Jaguars.  WR Mike Walker was the 3rd round pick of the Jags and he was a waste last season.  He was on the Injured Reserve list all season long due to a bum knee he had in college.  Punter Adam Podlesh was the first of two 4th round picks for the Jaguars last season.  He played in all 16 games as a rookie last season and he punted the ball 54 times for a gross average of 41.6 yards per punt.  His net average was a respectable 36.9 yards.  Only 14 of Podlesh’s punts landed inside the opposing 20-yard line (25.9%) and that will need to improve.  He also carried the ball 2 times for a loss of 2 yards and that is a very bad thing for a punter to have to do.  The Jags hope that he will improve in the near future.  The Jags other 4th round pick last season was DE Brian Smith who didn’t play in a game for them before he was cut loose.  Offensive guard Uche Nwaneri was the first of three 5th round picks for the Jags last season.  He played in 9 games (1 start) and he should be a solid reserve for the Jags.  Free safety Josh Gattis was the 2nd of the Jags’ 5th round picks last season but he was released before ever getting into a game.  The last of the 5th round picks was DT Derek Landri who saved all of his best plays for the post-season, especially in the victory over the Steelers.  Landri played in 13 games (0 starts) for the Jags last season and he made 11 tackles.  Look for his role to expand this season.  WR John Broussard was the first of three 7th round picks made by the Jags.  He played in 8 games (0 starts) last season and he caught 4 passes for 126 yards (31.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also returned 1 kickoff for 20 yards.  Linebacker Chad Nkang switched to safety in the pros and he played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Jags last season and he made 17 tackles.  He was a very nice find in the 7th round for the Jags.  The last pick of the draft for the Jags was OT Andrew Carnahan and he was cut without getting into a game.

GRADE FOR THE 2007 SEASON:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B

The Jaguars have signed 28-year old DT Jimmy Kennedy to a 1-year deal.  The 6′4″, 325 Kennedy is nothing more than a run plugger when healthy.  He played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Bears last season and he made 2 tackles.  Kennedy played in 56 games (30 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 92 tackles, has 4 sacks and he has defensed 4 passes.  This was a nice depth move as Kennedy wasn’t that expensive.

The Jaguars have signed cornerback Drayton Florence.  Florence played in 16 games last season for the Chargers and he made 62 tackles, defensed 10 passes and intercepted 2.  He has now played in 74 games in his NFL career and he has made 238 tackles, defensed 47 passes and intercepted 10 passes.  This was a good move for the Jags as Florence is a solid veteran.

The Jaguars have traded Marcus Stroud to the Buffalo Bills for a 3rd and 5th round pick in next month’s NFL Draft.  Stroud only played in 9 games last season for the Jaguars due to injuries and he made 22 tackles, defensed 2 passes and had 3 sacks.  Stroud finished his career with the Jaguars having played in 100 games in which he made 278 tackles, defensed 23 passes, sacked the QB 22 times and he forced 6 fumbles.  If the Jaguars are correct in their thinking that Stroud is on the downside of his career this will be a good trade.

WR Jerry Porter has signed a 6-year, $30 million dollar contract to play with the Jaguars.  While he might not be a classic #1 type receiver he still is much better than anyone the Jaguars had last season.  He played in 16 games for the Raiders last season and he caught 44 passes for 705 yards (16.0 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He has now played in 105 games in his NFL career and he has caught 284 passes for 3,939 yards (13.9 avg) with 30 TD grabs.  The Jags might have overpaid a little bit to get Porter but they really needed help at receiver.

The Jaguars have signed QB Cleo Lemon to a 3-year contract to replace Quinn Gray as David Garrard’s backup.  The 28-year old played in 9 games last season for the Dolphins and he completed 173 of 309 passes (56%) for 1,773 yards with 6 TD passes and 6 interceptions (71.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 31 times for 102 yards (3.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  Lemon has now played in 13 games in his NFL career and he has completed 211 of 377 passes (56%) for 2,185 yards with 8 TD passes and 7 interceptions (72.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 34 times for 109 yards (3.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  Lemon is probably a slight upgrade on Gray as it’s hard to evaluate him based on his play with the Dolphins who were a pathetic football team.

The Jaguars have acquired former first round draft pick Troy Williamson from the Vikings for a 6th round pick in 2008.  Williamson is super fast but he has problems catching the ball and that’s not a good thing for a wide receiver.  Williamson played in 11 games last season for the Vkings and he caught 18 passes for 240 yards (13.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Williamson has now played in 39 games in his NFL career and he has caught 79 passes for 1,067 yards (13.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Williamson was worth the risk for a 6th round pick but don’t expect a lot out of him or you will be disappointed.