Jaguars GM Says They Could Trade 7th Pick

Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Gene Smith says the team would be open to trading down from the seventh selection in April’s up-coming draft:

"“There’s no givens on draft day. Clearly we’ll get a good player (if they don’t trade). We’re well positioned in every round. I feel good about every round. If a player we covet (they would take him). If not, I would clearly entertain moving back. I know there’s a lot of interest in (Ryan) Tannehill, the quarterback. I think that is something that could work in our favor. But we have a good bit of time before the draft. We’ll have more clarity than we have today. I’m really happy with where we’re at in the draft. Obviously, we’d like to have a better record last year. But on the flip side, the draft spot is a good one to have and not one to have every year.“We would entertain that (trading down). As a scout, you’re kind of selfish with draft picks (wanting more). That would be a strong consideration. You’ve got to have a trade partner. We’ll be working on some things well in advance. That’s the one thing a lot of people don’t understand. It doesn’t just happen on draft day. There’s been a lot of discussion with teams. You have a pretty good idea so when you get on the clock, it would be rare you haven’t had discussions about the possibility with another team,’’ he said."

I may just be reading too far between the lines here, but what Smith is essentially saying is that the Miami Dolphins are really interested in Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill, so the pick is available to the highest bidder, potentially.

The Jaguars moved up and lost some picks in last year’s draft when they acquired the rights to draft Blaine Gabbert (not such a great move so far). It would probably please the fan base to see this team move down and acquire more picks after making a splash early in free agency (Dawan Landry, Jeremy Mincey, Laurent Robinson, Chad Henne).

It would be interesting to me to see if a team like Cleveland would be willing to move up and take a guy like Tannehill. They certainly have the ammunition and presumably the motive to do so.