JaguarsTalk: 2022 NFL Draft Rounds 4-7

JaguarsTalk: Sometimes the bottom feeders just plain ball out. When your livelihood depends on making special teams, you find out what you are made of.

Here we are, face to face, a couple of silver spoons. Hoping to find…Alright, I’ll spare you the rest of the 80s sitcom intro. I may have dated myself with this one, but frankly it was one of the best. However, if you are still reading my columns, then by now we are certainly two of a kind, and together we’re gonna find our way (I lied. Said I’d spare you the rest but damned if I couldn’t resist some more Ricky Schroder, and pre-Carlton, Carlton, theme song). Did anyone else know about the huge supporting cast that at some point graced this show with their presence? It’s a plethora of who’s who in Hollywood. Mexican drug cartel money launderer, Jason Bateman. Bud’s older sister, Christina Applegate (who once dated, on the show Married With Children, your favorite Friend and mine, Matt Leblanc). Speaking of Friends (and Matts), Matthew Perry played Davey on Silver Spoons. And before she was killing people with an ice pick, Sharon Stone showed her much younger face as well. Gary Coleman wasn’t wondering what Willis was talkin’ about, while Elizabeth Berkley (Jesse from Saved by the Bell and more importantly an episode of the 2005 sci-fi thriller Threshold) was no doubt preparing for her future role on the pole. This is amazing to me. Talk about a surprising rabbit hole to go down before getting to the meat and potatoes of this column. Let me introduce you to three guys who have absolutely no idea who any of the above actors are, Snoop Connor, Gregory Junior, and Montaric Brown. By the way, I just showed my daughter all of these big time Hollywood names that were once in the 80s sitcom hit Silver Spoons and she knew Matthew Perry. Maybe my intro wasn’t as mind blowing as I first thought. So here are some more thoughts that actually deal with football.

The Jags took three more players. None in round four, one in 5, one in 6 and one in 7. Turns out the Jags had Snoop Conner, running back from Ole Miss, and guy with the coolest name in the draft, in their sights. They traded up, yet again, to grab their guy with the 154th pick. Conner has been pigeonholed as a short yardage specialist, probably because his speed isn’t as impressive as his size (5’10”, 222lbs). Add to that the stable of RBs that the Jags will have in training camp this year, a healthy Etienne, a healthy James Robinson, Armstead, and Snoop seems to slot into a sparingly used role…Unless, and this is a big unless, the health of the previously injured ball carriers isn’t up to their pre-injury level, and/or re-injury occurs. Like linebackers, you can’t have too many hole hitters, however. As an aside I just want to be the first to ask that when I do launch my podcast, I would love to have a segment every Monday called…wait for it…The Snoop Scoop. My man Snoop and I will talk about the week that was and that will be. What went right and wrong from an insider's perspective. He will provide insight as to what the Jags can do to continue their winning ways or fix their losing streak. Just throwing it out there folks, but I am excited for this opportunity. You guys would be the reason it could happen. Keep reading, commenting and telling your friends so that we can build a following that would make Snoop proud to come aboard and share his first-hand football knowledge with the Jaguarstalk crew. Let’s make this happen. 

With the 197th pick of the 2022 NFL draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Gregory Junior, a corner back out of Ouachita Baptist. I know what you are thinking. Same thing that went through  my mind when the Jags pulled this name out of their hat. How many players from Ouachita Baptist can possibly be picked in one NFL draft? University of Georgia who? Let’s look at the Jaguars current situation at corner and ask ourselves if this was a wise pick.

Shaquill Griffin, played in Seattle starting almost all of his games. Were the Seahawks’ cornerbacks still considered the Legion of Boom during Griffin’s time there? I don’t know. I’m not a Seattle fan, and with Russell Wilson buckin’ Broncos next season, nobody else will be either. Bottom line is this guy is a gamer. He is the best corner on the Jaguars roster and definitely a top tier CB in the league. He is Jacksonville's lock-down guy. Tyson Campbell out of Georgia (I realize that they don’t have as many players drafted as Ouachita Baptist) is a solid third year guy. He has the experience edge, not only proving that he can defend but also tackle and catch the ball. Tre Herndon, a footballer out of Vanderbilt (I guess stranger things have happened). I kid, of course, everyone knows Vandy as a football powerhouse. Like Campbell, Herndon has years in the NFL under his belt. Five to be exact. That’s experience that is difficult to top. I give any kid credit who stays in the “Not For Long” league over three years. It ain’t easy playing at such a high level year after year. He may not be the dynamic playmaker that is Shaquill Griffin, but he will certainly start before our boy, D-II Greg. Chris Claybrooks, a little dude for a corner which is why he is used as a kickoff guy as well. He’s only 5’9” and has an issue with injuries, but he has the special teams acumen on which to fall back and, frankly, that is what Gregory will be playing for. We can talk about the rest of the cornerbacks and why they will be higher on the depth chart than our sixth round boy here, but I think we get the picture. Special Teams is what will make or break this guy's NFL career. If he busts his ass and proves himself playing some Beamer Ball then he makes the team. If he doesn’t, then he doesn’t. Truer words have never been spoken. Me? I’m rooting for the kid. I give him immense credit. I joke around here but he is the first player to ever be drafted from his school and I, for one, want to see him succeed. Hey Gregory, I know you read my stuff. Kick ass and take names, my man.

In round numero seven Jacksonville selected Montaric Brown, another cornerback. This guy is a little slower than you would like a corner to be. He ran a 4.55 in the 40. On the flip side he played at Arkansas against much better opponents than the previous sixth round cornerback selection. Chalk this pick under, things that make you go hmmmm. Why would you take a 2021 first team all SEC pick, with a league leading five interceptions, in the seventh round after you select a cornerback from a division two school that literally nobody, other than Gregory Junior, has ever heard of? I present two possibilities. The first is that Junior is just that good. Never mind that he played against lesser opponents, never mind that he wasn’t good enough to attract the attention of a D-1 football school. The kid is just a player, and we (as if I had significant input into the draft selections. And by “significant'' I mean any) felt that he is one NFL draft round better than an all SEC guy. To me this seems like crazy talk. Let’s see what I come up with for the second reason. B) 4.55 is just so slow that it warrants a hefty drop in the draft. No matter that you track the ball like a bloodhound. No matter that you are so hawkish on D that you led, arguably the best college football conference, in interceptions. No matter any of that stuff. The stuff between the whistles, that to me, is all that actually matters. I think somewhere in-between possibility 1 and possibility B, lies our answer. Maybe it’s a little bit of both. Bottom line is I don’t understand these picks. I would have reversed them and I probably wouldn’t have drafted Gregory. But like I said, I am truly rooting for that kid. Full disclosure, I know little about either of these two and almost nothing about Junior. I will say that Jacksonville loves versatility with their guys and Brown can also play at the safety position. This may have played a role in his selection. Again though, that would have been another reason to pick him before Junior, at least in these baby blues. 

I hope the best for both of these gentlemen. Their futures go as far as their special teams play will take them. It is an amazing feat to be selected anywhere in the NFL draft and for that I tip my cap to every one of the Jags choices in 2022. I would have made a few different moves had I been in charge (Aidan, or even Ekwanu, over Travon) and I would have traded away the last two picks for something better if possible. If not, I would have reversed their order. However, as a wise man once said, what do I know? I’m writing columns days after the draft, based on articles written by paid writers who pretend to have followed every down that each of these guys played in college. But then again, maybe I’m the Tom Brady of sports writers and I’m just waiting for a Senior Writer to get sidelined. Put me in coach. Just like with the Jaguars 2022 draft picks, only time will tell.

As always, I encourage you to leave your ravenous admiration, kind words of encouragement, or just so-so musings below: