Two years ago, the Ravens traded down from the eighth pick in the draft, and later picked up quarterback Joe Flacco. The Jacksonville Jaguars had a front-row seat for the transaction, given that they were the ones who traded up to get defensive end Derrick Harvey.
In hindsight, they should have gone for Flacco instead.
There’s a chance they’re considering a similar drop-down-and-draft-a-quarterback maneuver. Though they’re wisely not talking about the back end of the potential transaction, G.M. Gene Smith has made it clear that the Jags are looking to move down from the No. 10 position.
It’s still too early to tell whether the Jaguars will be able to pull it off. “You can’t anticipate anything at this point,” Smith said at a pre-draft luncheon, according to Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union. “Teams have said they’re willing to be trade partners, and we think it’s a good thing if we can help each other, but there hasn’t been a lot of substance to our conversations.”
They’d like to add more picks, since they don’t have a second-round selection. And, presumably, the organization has a business interest in at least considering quarterback Tim Tebow -- if, that is, the business truly wants to find a viable way to stay in the town where it currently is headquartered.
Asked about Tebow, Smith gave a generic “he’ll be treated like everyone else” answer. Asked about receiver Dez Bryant, whom the team reportedly has taken off the board, Smith said that players won’t be yanked from the stack until Wednesday, when owner Wayne Weaver gets a rundown of some questionable players.
The fact that Weaver has a finger in the pot increases the chances that a play will be made for Tebow (if Weaver wants the team to thrive in Jacksonville), and it could be that Smith wants teams potentially interested in drafting Bryant to believe that the Jags could take him if they don’t move down -- possibly in the hopes of luring them to jump into tenth position, which would be one spot in front of the Broncos, whom many think will be ready to pounce on Bryant at No. 11.