In April, the Jaguars traded up from the 7th overall pick to the 5th pick to draft Justin Blackmon, widely considered the best wide receiver in the 2012 draft and a key piece for the Jaguars in their efforts to make drastic improvements at the position.
Blackmon’s aggravated DUI over the weekend is a big problem for Blackmon and his team. We’ll start with the simpler issue concerning the Jaguars. The made a big draft day trade to move up and get their true “#1 receiver.” Now that Blackmon has his second DUI on his record, concerns over his ability to stay clean are suddenly more than an afterthought. It’s once again on the forefront.
I think it’s also important to be reasonable here as well. A DUI is a very serious offense that endangers everyone on the road. That being said, a DUI is also not the end of the world for Blackmon. He needs to realize that this sort of decision making can’t and won’t be tolerated by the league, his team, and it can’t be tolerated by himself.
The best, and in my eyes the only, course of action for Blackmon is to transform into an ideal teammate and person on and off the field. He needs to prove to his teammates, coaches, and employer that he’s an asset to the Jaguars organization. He needs to show those people that this DUI was the exception, not the rule. Frankly, if he can convince those people that he is and asset and not a liability, his critics will eventually simply cease to exist. It’s all about blocking out the external noise and focusing on football.
At the moment, many people, including me, are beginning to wonder if the Jaguars made the right move by trading up in the draft to pick Blackmon. And honestly, it’s too early to make any kind of binding judgment. That will come later. Right now, Justin Blackmon needs to realize the problem that he’s caused and begin doing everything he can to make it right. This incident doesn’t have to define his NFL career which has barely just begun.
