Among the Jaguars’ biggest needs heading into the draft is a young quarterback that can grow into the role of franchise passer. The question for the Jags is not if they’ll take a quarterback, but when. There are a number of options for Jacksonville to consider in the first round and even later in the draft. An early pick would suggest Chad Henne would fall back to his role as a backup, while a later pick would likely give Henne a couple more seasons as the team’s starting quarterback.
Tania Ganguli of ESPN reports that the Jags have scheduled a second meeting and workout with former Louisville quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater. Heading into the draft season, Bridgewater was widely regarded as the top quarterback prospect in the draft, but his stock has steadily declined over the past couple of months, and some believe he could even slide into the second round.
Because his stock is trending down, it’s hard to imagine the Jaguars spending the third overall pick on a player that could bust in a big way. On the other hand, the Jaguars are clearly interested in Bridgewater’s potential. He’s quick on his feet, completes a high percentage of his passes and he has a very high natural ceiling.
The Jaguars are one of many teams looking to acquire more picks in the draft. Bridgewater could be part of a plan for the team to trade down, possibly out of the top ten. If the Jags can get out of the early picks, drafting Bridgewater makes much more sense, and the move would have the benefit of adding draft picks to the Jaguars’ board.
Just because another meeting and workout has been scheduled doesn’t imply the Jaguars are ready to pull the trigger on Bridgewater with their first pick. There are a number of scenarios that would land Bridgewater in Jacksonville. In addition to trading down, the Jaguars could also be considering moving back into the first round to claim him should he begin to fall through the draft in a manner similar to the way Brady Quinn slid down the board in 2007.
While I’m intent on not reading into a second meeting too much, keep in mind that teams have a finite amount of individual meetings and workouts they can schedule. The Jaguars evidently like what they see in Bridgewater enough to spend a valuable resource on gaining more information. That being said, general manager David Caldwell has not been one to stretch to find players like the team’s former regime did. If the Jaguars do go after Bridgewater, they’ll be sure to get him where he should fall in the draft, not by stretching.
