BCS National Championship title. He accrued 1,108 yards
rushing with 12 touchdowns. In 2013, after Lacy declared
for the draft, Yeldon became the starter and racked up 1,235
yards and 14 touchdowns. He did sustain several ankle and
hamstring snafus during his sophomore year, which somewhat
hindered his effectiveness this past season, but the kid is strong.
Yeldon has been tested and has proven himself worthy. He can
maintain composure under highly pressurized situations and
has all of the tools necessary to be a clutch runner. His true
potential was not seen at Alabama due to his ongoing recovery
from injuries. Long arms coupled with some decent hands can
make Yeldon a dangerous offensive asset with Blake Bortles’
short-range accuracy. Some analysts have questioned him on
his ball security, but that is nothing a few good gloves and some
better ball coaching can’t resolve.
Round three started just as soon as the Patriots made the
64th overall pick of the draft. The third round was once again
reduced in time allotted per pick from seven minutes down to
five. The Indianapolis Colts took the 65th pick from the Bucs
and the Titans took the 66th.
The Jaguars, for the 67th overall pick of 2015 NFL Draft, chose
A. J. Cann from South Carolina. Cann completed his senior year
in 2014 and was named second-team All-American before
registering for the draft. He started all four years of collegiate
play as a left guard for the Gamecocks. He was voted team
captain in both the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
The 6-foot-3-inch, 313-pound guard will be a good player
to shadow the veteran Zane Beadles for the next couple of
seasons. While Cann isn’t the tallest of guards to play the
position, he is strong and has quick feet, which will benefit any
pulls or screen plays. He was rarely penalized for holding during
his college career and has the instincts of a defender. Cann is
a wide-bodied athletic player who can plug a hole in terms of
pass protection – which is exactly what Jacksonville needs – or
provide solid down-blocking to give a runner an open hole.
Unfortunately, the guard position is only as strong as the
man standing next to them. If the tackles can’t find a way to
throttle the pass rush in this coming season, we could see a lot
more of the same. Then again, maybe the Jaguars just need an
offensive anchor, like Tony Boselli in the late 90s. And if that
leadership role can’t be filled by Bortles, maybe it’s the twotime South Carolina team captain, Cann, who can step up and
play the part. Time will tell.
36 June - July 2015 | First Coast Register
Rounds Four through Seven – Saturday, May 2, 2015
These final rounds are always exciting, for the players who
get drafted, of course, and for those who are true fans out there.
These are the rounds where players like Tom Brady, Terrell
Davis, Richard Dent and Shannon Sharpe are picked up and
tucked away under the wing of some sleeping giant until the
day they shine.
These rounds kicked off at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning,
when most people were still nursing hangovers and rethinking
life decisions. Rounds four through six were kept at five minutes
per pick, with the seventh round and additional compensatory
picks being reduced to four minutes apiece.
The New York Jets traded up with the Jaguars in the fourth
round, coincidently only moving the Jets up one pick from
the 104th to the 103rd. The Jets chose Baylor’s standout
quarterback, Bryce Petty. With the fifth pick in the fourth round
and the 104th pick overall, Jacksonville chose James Sample,
the Louisville safety from Sacramento, Calif.
Sample declared for the draft after his first and only season
with the Louisville Cardinals as a junior. In just 13 games with
the Cardinals he racked up 90 tackles and four interceptions.
Sample is one of the taller safeties, standing at 6-foot-2-inches
and weighing in at 209-pounds. Not much can be shown for
his college career due to his lack of playing time at the colleges
he attended before coming to Louisville. Although, what little
has been shown from his junior year of collegiate play in the
ACC, I would say he is comparable to one of the hardest hitting
safeties to ever play the game, John Lynch.
Much like Lynch, football was not Sample’s only focus in his
early years. Sample was a standout in football growing up, but
he also excelled in track & field. Obviously, he is quick on his
feet, as any safety should be, and he shows his value in openfield tackling. He is a headhunter outside of zone defenses and
covers the field efficiently from sideline to sideline. Of those
90 tackles he accrued in his junior year, 74 of them were solo
takedowns. With some solid defensive coaching, Sample could
very well develop into a premier safety for the Jaguars.
Jacksonville, yet to pick up a wide receiver, selected Rashad
Greene from Florida State in the fifth round. This very well
could be the biggest sleeper and most explosive pick for the
Jaguars in this draft.
Greene played all four years of college ball with the Seminoles.
As a senior in 2014 he set the school record for most single-