Joeckel was arguable the best player on the board, but was he the best for the Jaguars?
The Jaguars have a dominant left tackle in Eugene Monroe and a serious lack of a pass-rusher. In the short-term, this doesn’t help the Jaguars at all.
Monroe is a free agent at the end of the year, so I understand the thought process. But if you want Monroe, just sign him. Left tackles are worth paying. If they choose to let Monroe walk because they have Joeckel, this is basically a wasted pick.
Luke Joeckel OT Texas A&M #76[divider top=”0″ style=”solid”]
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Size/Athleticism: Prototypical height and adequate overall build. Strength is adequate, but not dominant. Decent quickness. He’ll struggle against some elite edge rushers, but he generally holds his own and is quick enough to get to the second level. The quickness is there in terms of short bursts, but its the lateral movement and footwork that’s not quite on an elite level.
Pass Protection: Lacks the lower body strength to anchor against the bull rush consistently (most notably got pushed around by Sharrif Floyd vs Florida). Fairly quick to get into position off the snap, but does get beat by an occasional speed rusher. He lacks the athleticism and foot quickness to put him in an elite category as a prospect. Plays a little too upright at times, which causes him to lose leverage against bull rushers and also hinders his ability to slow down speed rushers who dip their shoulder to slip past him. Impressive upper body strength; has the ability to toss small edge rushers or blitzing linebackers. However, he doesn’t often finish guys off. He essentially bench presses the pass-rusher out of the way, but if the play gets extended, guys are often able to recover and slip past Joeckel.
Run Blocking: Quick enough to be an asset pulling and can also get to the second level with ease. Occasionally shifted to the right side next to right tackle Jake Matthews when A&M ran the option in that direction; if a man wasn’t lined up over him, his assignment was to immediately get to the second level and he did a nice job leading the way for Manziel. Quick off the snap and consistently delivers a strong initial pop to the defensive lineman.
Intangibles: Three-year starter at left tackle.
Durability: No significant issues.
Comments: Joeckel is the top tackle in this year’s class, but he’s not a finished product. While he’s technically sound, for the most part, he still makes too many mistakes and lacks the dominant strength to be considered an elite prospect. He is definitely a notch below last year’s top tackle, Matt Kalil. Joeckel does have the potential to develop into an elite lineman at the next level, however. He’s rarely caught out of position and makes very few mental mistakes on the field. If he can improve his strength and iron out some issues with his technique, he can become one of the better left tackles in the league.
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