With The 16th Pick In The 2011 Stampede Blue Community Mock Draft, The Jacksonville Jaguars Select...

J.J. Watt - DE, Wisconsin

Pick made by Collin McCollough:

Of course, my disdain for all things Jacksonville having been voiced last season, it was tempting to slot the Jaguars with a punter or reserve long snapper or Matt Jones here, but these are not the Jaguars of yesteryear where every draft class resulted in yet another pass rusher who couldn't get to Peyton Manning. No, these are the Jaguars who have unearthed Tyson Aluala, Deji Karim, Eugene Monroe, Terrance "Pot Roast" Knighton, Mike Thomas, Zach Miller and Rashad Jennings in the last two drafts. So chances are, no schmuck is taken here.

When I look at the Jaguars, I see a team that, on offense, can run the ball with startling efficiency when Maurice Jones-Drew is healthy and is learning how to compliment that attack with a respectable aerial assault mostly made possible by an extremely underrated group of receivers headlined by the two Mikes: Thomas and Sims-Walker. On the defensive side of the ball, I see a defensive line that's average but starting to come together, a respectable group of linebackers who help forge a solid front seven...and Rashean Mathis, quickly headed toward the downside of his career. Off the top of your head, can you name the Jaguars' starting safeties? I couldn't. I had to look them up: Courtney Greene and Don Carey, with a sprinkling of Sean Considine. That's pretty bad, folks. The cornerback situation, while slightly better, isn't exactly intimidating either. And in a division with Peyton Manning and Matt Schaub, that's probably not a good thing. Manning put up some gaudy numbers against the Jaguars this year and was carving up that wretched secondary at will before Austin Collie was lost for the season with his third (or second if you're into 56th Street semantics) concussion of the season.

The Jaguars need help in the secondary, but unfortunately for Jacksonville, the top three cornerbacks are off the board and taking a safety in this draft class at 16, even the draft's top safety in UCLA's Rahim Moore, is a reach of epic proportions. So how do you help a secondary when taking a cornerback at safety at your spot is a reach? Easy. Add another pass-rusher. And if you're adding a guy like J.J. Watt, who has the strength to anchor down against the run as well and constitute himself an every-down DE...well, you can't go wrong with that pick, especially in the long-term sense. Watt is obviously the best player left on the board and would be a mainstay on the Jaguars' defensive line for years to come. He's exactly the sort of gritty, hard-nosed athlete a guy like Jack Del Rio wants to coach, and if you agree with nothing else I've written, you'll at least agree that 2.5 sacks (in 2010) from the RDE position (both from consensus flop Derrick Harvey, none from rookie Austen Lane) just isn't going to cut it.

There might be questions about Watt's ability to play DE in a 4-3 when he's such an obvious 3-4 cornerstone, but guys with his build, production and attitude translate well to any defensive scheme. If Watt falls to the Jaguars, Del Rio will be a very happy man. And the Colts had better hope they address that offensive tackle situation as a result.

If Watt is taken 16th overall, it'll be the their time in the past four years the Jaguars have taken a DL in the top half of the first round (Derrick Harvey, Tyson Alualu). Also, it'll be the first time since 2005 a DE from Wisconsin was taken in the first round, when Erasmus James was taken 18th overall by the Vikings.

J.J. Watt Scouting Report from Yahoo! Shutdown Corner

The Patriots, and mgrex03, are on the clock...