As draft weekend approached, the Jacksonville Jaguars who fell just 6 quarters shy of the Super Bowl in 2007 had one main objective heading into the draft, find a defensive end at all costs.   A few days earlier the best defensive end available already in the league was Jared Allen of the Kansas City Chiefs, the Jaguars may have been prepared to give up the draft picks as Minnesota did, but the twenty million plus in guaranteed money for a guy who is a couple beers away from a one year vacation from the NFL was not to their liking.   Plan B, about 350 miles south of Jacksonville there was a dancing star who was put on the trading block, the 2006 NFL defensive player of the year Jason Taylor.   Bill Parcells held out for a first round pick which turned out to much for any NFL team to give up for a 34 year old defensive end.  

So there the Jaguars were, sitting with the 26^th pick in the draft and knew they had to score a touchdown with one of the top defensive ends in the draft.   With Chris Long going to St. Louis with the number two pick and Vernon Gholston headed to the Jets at 6 the clock was ticking on the next best available defensive end in this year’s draft in Derrick Harvey from the University of Florida.   Being so close to the Super Bowl in 2007 and knowing with the right pieces in place they would be a contender heading into 2008 the choice was simple, do what it takes to bag Harvey.   Bag Harvey they did by swapping first round picks with Baltimore and also giving up their two third round and a fourth round pick to move up 18 slots.   According to the draft chart the Jaguars won with that deal.   So there it was, with the eighth pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars select Derrick Harvey, defensive end, Florida.   The Jaguars also made another move for a defensive end and moved up in round two and selected Quentin Groves.   The Jaguars saw the success the New York Giants had with two premier defensive ends and they hope to find the same success from Harvey and Groves.  

In the end, some may think the Jaguars gave up two much for Derrick Harvey, but when you’re so close to the Super Bowl you do what you have to do to get there.   The Jaguars had a draft plan and they executed on it. 

Had the Jaguars held on to their original picks there would have been several third round and down draftees cut due to a very deeply skilled Jaguar team that will have to make very tough decisions in the preseason and will inevitably cut players that have the ability to start for other NFL teams.  

The Jacksonville Jaguars, most notably head coach Jack Del Rio knows how to make wise, tough decisions in the best interest of their team.   Need we not forget Del Rio cutting starting quarterback Byron Leftwich less than one week before the season started and turning the league onto David Garrard.  

Whether the decision to move up twice and draft Harvey and Groves turns out to be a good or bad one won’t be determined until after the 2008 season, but now there are no excuses and no holes in what will be a Super Bowl contending football team heading into next season.