Jacksonville Jaguars Take A Look At Illinois Defensive End Whitney Mercilus
The Jacksonville Jaguars have a chance to add an elite playmaker with their first round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft, and they are going to do their homework to make sure they do not miss with this pick.
The Jaguars kicked off the post-combine evaluation period by taking a good look at University of Illinois defensive end Whitney Mercilus at his pro day on Tuesday.
According to Dan Pompei of The Chicago Tribune, Jaguars defensive line coach Joe Cullen ran Mercilus’ drills during the workout and also had dinner with him on Monday night.
While most of the first round talk around defensive ends has centered around North Carolina’s Quinton Coples and South Carolina’s Melvin Ingram as of late, Mercilus has quietly been flying up draft boards with his impressive performance at the combine and at his pro day.
Mercilus is an extremely quick defensive end prospect who led the nation with 16 sacks and 9 forced fumbles in 2011 at Illinois. Mercilus is not just a speed rusher, however. He also has the strength to be an effective run defender at the NFL level.
The biggest knock on Mercilus is that he was only a one year producer at the college level, but they compare his freakish pass rushing ability to New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul. Given how well Pierre-Paul has played, despite being a one year wonder in college, teams will most certainly view Mercilus as a top half of the first round prospect.
With the possible departure of Jeremy Mincey in free agency, defensive end is emerging as one of the Jaguars biggest needs this offseason. Even if they can re-sign Mincey, the Jaguars still need to find an elite pass rushing defensive end.
The way the draft board is setting up, the Jaguars may be in a better position to select a defensive end in the first round than any other position.
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