NFL Draft: 30 worst first-round picks of the 21st century

In the 2005 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars thought they were building a winning team for years to come. They had the No. 7 pick in the 2003 draft under center in Byron Leftwich, as well as a stud running back in Fred Taylor. They also had an aged, but respected tight end in Kyle Brady. What they didn’t have was a star wide receiver, outside of the aging 36-year-old Jimmy Smith.

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So naturally, with the No. 21 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, they took a quarterback. Well, kind of. Their selection was Arkansas quarterback Matt Jones, who they were going to convert to a wide receiver. The plan was he was for him to work alongside Smith before eventually take his place as the No. 1 receiver.

While he did have great speed and impressive size at 6-foot-6 and 222-pounds, it was a gamble to take a player who didn’t play wideout. Yes, there have been others to successfully convert, but this selection was made with players like Aaron Rodgers still on the board, which could have changed the entire fortune of their franchise — and no, Leftwich wasn’t a good enough reason to pass on Rodgers no matter when he was selected.

Jacksonville reached for Jones and took a project player way too early. He rewarded them with four seasons and an arrest in 2008 that led to his release.

To be fair to them, Jones was starting to show signs of being a legitimate option in the passing game before his arrest. So had this been all about his talent, maybe it would have worked out? Having said that, Jones proved he wasn’t to be trusted and had an incredibly short career.