Keyshawn Johnson may not like it, but there’s a perception in some circles that former Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant will create so many off-field headaches for any NFL team that drafts him that his on-field talent doesn’t justify the risk.
In Jacksonville, that perception is apparently enough to have removed Bryant from the Jaguars’ draft board.
Michael C. Wright of the Florida Times-Union reports, citing multiple NFL sources, that the Jaguars eliminated Bryant from their draft board because of concerns about his character.
As Wright notes, the Jaguars are particularly concerned about off-field concerns regarding wide receivers because in the last decade they wasted first-round picks on wide receivers R. Jay Soward, Reggie Williams and Matt Jones.
Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said he’d like to add a wide receiver in the draft, but he doesn’t see it happening in the first round.
“It’s not a great year for wide receiver,” Del Rio said, “but there will be some guys in the mid rounds that have a shot.”