2011 Jaguars Draft Picks: CB - Rod Issac - Middle Tennessee State
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The economics of the draft have evolved over the last decade to the point where top 10 picks are almost undesirable due to the ludicrous contracts that accompany top picks. As such, the old trade value chart has become outdated and doesn't necessarily match the amounts of today. So in recent years, when a team traded into the top 10 picks they usually did so and won on the trade value chart.