The Jaguars are not dropping hints that they will sign players on defense whenever free agency begins, they are flat out saying it. There's no veiled interest here.

"We'll be very active in pro free agency." -- Terry McDonough
"Jack Del Rio says doubtful that the Jaguars go anything but defense in veteran free agency" - John Oesher
"McDonough says draft might have made more sense to fans had free agency occured before the draft." - John Oesher

When free agency will be and what kind of players will be available as restricted or unrestricted free agents is still up in the air for the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, but it's clear the Jaguars have a plan in place and they will be signing players. We'll certainly be breaking down the candidates for the Jaguars to sign in the not-so-distant future on this site.

The Jaguars surprised everybody when the drafted the unknown Middle Tennessee State CB Rod Issac in the 5th round. Or maybe they surprised nobody by picking someone no one has heard of. It's been Gene Smith's mantra since taking over as general manager of the Jaguars to take small school players throughout the draft.

Issac represents the most recent surprise, although with the amount of athleticism he has, maybe it shouldn't be. He has all the tools necessary to be a very successful player in the NFL. Issac has a 5'11, 196 pound frame and reportedly ran a 40 in the low 4.4's at his pro day. 

Issac recorded five interceptions during his career with the Blue Raiders, including three in his senior season. According to the quotes from Director of Player Personnel, Terry McDonough it was the physicality of Issac that drew him to the pick, calling him one of the more physical cornerbacks in the entire draft.

Issac will have the opportunity to compete with William Middleton for the nickel corner spot during his rookie year and can develop into a potential safety or starting cornerback in the future. He also has plenty of special teams ability, with returning as another possible option.

The Jaguars finally chose to address their secondary woes by selecting Chris Prosinski in the 4th round with the 124th overall selection. While Wyoming is certainly not a football powerhouse, it represents the first time Gene Smith didn't draft a "small school" player outside of the first round since they drafted Tiquan Underwood in 2009.

Prosinski was projected by most to be a late round draft pick, but it's not because of a lack of athleticism. At 6'1, 201 pounds, his 4.4 speed is certainly strong enough for the safety position and possibly even strong enough for the cornerback position. With the Jaguars already listing Prosinski as a DB instead of a safety, it's not out of the question that the Jaguars could move him to cornerback if his athleticism allows for it.

Off the field, Prosinski has received raves for his intelligence and received opportunities to play for the Harvard and Princeton football programs prior to going to Wyoming. That intelligence translated to the field where he racked up 354 tackles and five interceptions. Tackling and toughness is likely what attracts most scouts to Prosinski although his tremendous pro day workout showed that he had the athleticism to be more than a strong safety in the NFL.

The most concerning factor about Prosinski is that he is not particularly strong or intimidating. While he plays with toughness and scrappiness, if a tight end or lineman gets their hands on him, he could very easily be eliminated from the play. Based on production and measurables, Prosinski is very much worth the 4th round pick that the Jaguars used to bring him in, in my opinion.

With their first 4th round pick and the 114th pick overall, the Jaguars have selected Mount Union WR Cecil Shorts III. With the impending departure of Mike Sims-Walker, the Jaguars wide receivers crop is relatively thin and it's not too surprising to see Gene Smith address the position. However, it is relatively surprising that they have ignored drafting players to help upgrade a defense that ranked 28th in the NFL in yards allowed.

Shorts is a 6'0, 193 pound receiver that was originally recruited to Mount Union as a quarterback before making the transition to receiver. He was a tremendously speedy and productive player at Mount Union, but with 4.5 speed it's questionable whether or not his speed will translate well to the NFL level.

Josh Buchanan, a small school expert, ranked Shorts as the 18th best small school player and the 4th best receiver behind Edmond Gates, Stephen Burton and Andre Holmes, the latter two whom have not yet been selected. Buchanan projected Shorts to be drafted in the 6th or 7th rounds.

I think Shorts can have an impact in the NFL.  I'm not sure he will have the same level of impact that Garcon has had because Garcon is a bit faster and more explosive but Shorts is certainly just as productive, a refined route runner, and versatile.  I see Shorts having a solid career though and could eventually become a nice third or fourth receiver within a couple years. - Josh Buchanan

The Jaguars are scheduled to pick three times between rounds four and five at picks 114, 121 and 147. Unless the Jaguars make a trade these will be the last three picks for the Jaguars in the 2011 Draft.

With no defensive players yet taken through the first two days of the draft, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Jaguars spend the rest of their remaining draft picks on the defensive side of the ball. The NFL's 28th defense can use an infusion of some fresh talent, particularly in the secondary that struggled to stop any quarterback not named Colt McCoy.

The Jaguars have some solid pieces for the future along their offensive line. Eugene Monroe, Eben Britton, Kevin Haslam and Uche Nwaneri all represent youth on the line that can translate into longterm fixtures. While this youth does exist, there is some age on the interior of the line that needed to be replaced during this offseason.

Vince Manuwai and Brad Meester both had relatively strong seasons, but those players will be turning 31 and 34, respectively, prior to the beginning of next season. By adding Lehigh G Will Rackley with the 76th pick in the 3rd round, the Jaguars provide themselves with a long-term replacement along the interior of the line. Something that was likely high on Gene Smith's list of priorities as he continues to improve the roster. 

Gene Smith talked in his press conference after selecting Blaine Gabbert that he often has a scout's mentality when it comes to parting with picks. It takes rare circumstances like a highly rated player like Gabbert slipping to within reach for him to pull the trigger and sacrifice draft picks for a player. In most cases, he covets draft picks and tries to accumulate them.

With that in mind, it seems like a doubtful scenario that Gene Smith would sacrifice more of his draft picks to acquire a pick in the second round. The most likely scenario is that the Jaguars next pick will in fact be at pick 80. Here are a few candidates the Jaguars could select today: