Perhaps hinting that Jacksonville will take an offensive tackle with the No. 2 overall pick in Thursday night’s NFL draft, Jaguars owner Shad Khan says his team doesn’t need to draft a flashy player who will fire up the fans.
“What I’m worried about is that we make good choices that help us win,” Khan told the Florida Times-Union. “It’s not about sexy or unsexy. To me, we want to get the best player that is going to help us win. We have a nucleus of players. Who do we have to get to complement them and bring out the best in them? It’s as simple as that because when it’s all said and done football is a lot of fun and a lot of showbiz element. It’s just exhilarating and invigorating, but it’s about winning. Everything we’re going through is to get us to a stage where we will be a perennial contender. That’s where we want to be.”
Jaguars G.M. Dave Caldwell has said his team is down to two players it might pick at No. 2, and a consensus is starting to emerge that the Jaguars will take either Texas A&M left tackle Luke Joeckel or Central Michigan left tackle Eric Fisher, whoever the Chiefs don’t take first overall.
In any event, Khan said he and the front office have to build the team the right way to turn around a moribund franchise.
“Winning. Winning. That’s what is left. That’s the most important thing,” he said. “I hope it’s quick, but as we know there are no shortcuts.”
And so it appears that the Jaguars will eschew a sexy pick and build the offensive line on Thursday night. Not to suggest that Joeckel and Fisher aren’t sexy.