Rashad Greene terrific fit for Jacksonville Jaguars

By Kevin Parvizi | May 2, 2015

The Jacksonville Jaguars are putting together another nice draft for themselves, as they followed up the wise selection of Dante Fowler Jr. with the third overall pick by landing a true feature back in T.J. Yeldon in the second round before stealing away A.J. Cann in the third. It’s been a draft of value picks and standout players for the Jags, as both Yeldon and Fowler will surely be two of the team’s most important players even in their rookie seasons. You can chalk up fifth round selection Rashad Greene as another important rookie contributor.

It’s obvious that the Jaguars No. 1 priority is to surround 2014 No. 3 overall pick Blake Bortles with as many talented pass-catchers as possible, because even the excellent Allen Robinson, promising Allen Hurns, talented Marqise Lee, and expensive Julius Thomas didn’t prevent them from being heavily linked to No. 1-rated WR prospect Amari Cooper.

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The appeal with Cooper- despite the lack of need- was the fact that he’s an excellent route-runner and has playmaking ability to boot. While Greene isn’t much of a playmaker due to his limited athletic ability, he is at least as good of a route-runner as Cooper, because he could very well be the best route-runner in the class.

Jameis Winston loved to anticipate throws in college, and it’s why he targeted Greene so frequently that it almost came to a fault. Greene was so dang good at finding space and coming in and out of his breaks, and he was one of the best and most reliable wide receivers in college football. Kevin Benjamin, who had a really nice rookie season with the Carolina Panthers, was a go-to target for Winston with his size and explosiveness, but Greene was truly Florida State’s most reliable wideout.

I’m not surprised to see that Greene fell in a deep wide receiver class, because he isn’t nearly as athletic as the players who went before him. However, he deserved to be selected before the fifth round and is an excellent value pick for the WR-hungry Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 139.

Greene has been rightfully touted for his inside-outside ability, but he’ll spend most of his time in the slot as a member of the Jaguars. Lee also has slot ability and Orange Julius is obviously a slot guy, but Greene could become a mainstay on the inside due to his ability to consistently get open.

Considering the Jaguars showed interest in Greg Jennings, it’s clear that they wanted to add a reliable route-runner at some point in the offseason, and adding Greene in the fifth round of the draft was probably their dream outcome at the position. There’s a reason why many people are praising this move, because Greene does the most important thing; he gets open, and he gets open at will.

The Jaguars seem to have a surplus of depth at the wide receiver position, but I think it’s a great set-up for Bortles, who can have multiple looks around him. A first-read QB at UCF, Bortles quietly progressed as a passer throughout his rocky rookie season, and it will be interesting to see how he’ll use the wealth of weapons the Jaguars have given to him.

Rashad Greene will have his work cut out for him when it comes to receiving targets in a crowded situation, but I like his chances of being a solid contributor. He brings something else to the table, and the Jaguars managed to make a good upgrade at the position with just a Day 3 pick in the fifth round. A strong draft just got even stronger.

Next: Jaguars 5 Best Free Agent Moves

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