The Jacksonville Jaguars possess two first-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, holding the No. 9 and No. 20 picks. While the Jaguars are amid a rebuild, making sure they make the right selections in the first round is crucial to the organization's future.
Throughout Jacksonville's history, they've drafted well in certain moments, drafting guys like Fred Taylor, Tony Boselli, and Maurice Jones-Drew. On the other hand, they've had plenty of head-scratching selections that backfired in the draft.
Even though they've been a franchise for fewer than 30 years, Jacksonville has a decent amount of players that could be labeled ‘busts' in the NFL Draft. With that in mind, here are the 5 biggest NFL Draft busts in Jaguars' history.
Matt Jones
The Jaguars have had success in drafting wide receivers in recent seasons, but they once had some tough luck. Back in the 2005 NFL Draft, Jacksonville selected Matt Jones with the No. 21 pick in the first round out of Arkansas.
While in college, Jones actually played all four of his seasons at quarterback. However, due to his athleticism, Jones made the switch to wide receiver and became a first-round selection. Sadly, Jones would play with the Jaguars for four seasons, having multiple arrests and violations of the NFL's substance-abuse policy.
In his four seasons in Jacksonville, Jones hauled in 166 catches for 2,153 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Jaguars' decision to draft Jones is even worse when you consider that Aaron Rodgers and Roddy White were still available.
Derrick Harvey
The 2008 NFL Draft was littered with first-round busts, especially for edge rushers. Besides Vernon Gholston at No. 6 for the New York Jets, Derrick Harvey at No. 8 to the Jaguars never seemed to pan out.
Coming out of Florida, Jacksonville expected Harvey to be a cornerstone player for their defense for years to come. As a matter of fact, the Jaguars actually traded four draft picks to the Baltimore Ravens to move up and select Harvey.
Despite the ransom they surrendered for him, Harvey would total just eight sacks in three seasons before being released. After short stints with the Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals, Harvey was out of the NFL in 2012.
Luke Joeckel
The first round of the 2013 NFL Draft was notorious for having an immense amount of misses, with only two players in the first round still playing with the team that drafted them. For the Jaguars, they definitely regret taking Luke Joeckel with the No. 2 pick out of Texas A&M.
When Jacksonville took Joeckel, they were hopeful that he'd immediately become a mainstay on their offensive line. However, Joeckel would start in just five games in his rookie campaign due to an ankle injury.
Altogether, Joeckel would start in just 39 games in his four seasons with the Jaguars. Instead of selecting Joeckel at No. 2, Jacksonville could have had Lane Johnson, who was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 4 pick.
Justin Blackmon
Drafting wide receivers wasn't Jacksonville's calling card before they were able to draft guys like Allen Robinson, D.J. Chark, Marquise Lee, and DeDe Westbrook in recent seasons. Just seven years after selecting Jones in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Jaguars decided to draft Justin Blackmon with the No. 5 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
In his final two collegiate seasons at Oklahoma State, Blackmon amassed 233 receptions, 3,304 receiving yards, and 38 touchdowns. Then, everything seemed peachy when Blackmon led all rookies with 64 receptions for 865 yards and five touchdowns in 2012.
Following his impressive rookie campaign, Blackmon would be suspended four games in 2013 for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. Once his suspension was lifted, Blackmon was suspended indefinitely from the NFL. Right after the 2014 season was completed, Blackmon would see his career in the NFL come to an end.
Blaine Gabbert
Just a year before adding Blackmon in the first round of the draft, the Jaguars thought they found their franchise quarterback in Blaine Gabbert. With the No. 10 pick of the 2011 NFL Draft, Jacksonville took Gabbert with the expectation he would finally solve their problems under center.
Contrary to their belief, Gabbert would start in just 24 games in his first two seasons in the NFL. Within those 24 starts, the Missouri product threw for only 3,876 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions.
Then, in his third and final season with Jacksonville, Gabbert would throw for 481 yards, one touchdown, and seven interceptions in three starts. While Gabbert is Tom Brady's backup for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (never thought that would ever be a possibility), his career never turned out as expected with the Jaguars.
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