Dave Caldwell: (opening statement) “We are excited. The last two days, Coach Marrone and I talked about staying patient and staying true to the board and letting the draft come to us. We feel like we did. Sure enough, we did. We felt like we filled needs with really good players that are high character, great team guys, and we feel that we really improved our team at positions of our need and improved depth, too.”
Doug Marrone: (opening statement) “I think with a player like Laviska Shenault Jr., we feel there are multiple areas where he can make plays. You may not have known about him before, but you may have saw a couple of highlights they showed where he was a Wildcat quarterback and lined up in the backfield as a running back and moved all over. He is just a tough guy. He does not run out of bounds. He breaks tackles. He can really do a lot of things. He is physical, he is fast. The guy is a definite playmaker. We talked about getting playmakers on offense and today was the start of that. It is still the same theme – we need to stop the run. We understand that, and we feel that we have some good pass rushers with [K’Lavon] Chaisson being there in the first round. Now, helping out in the middle now with [DeVon] Hamilton. We really feel good about him. He is a big guy. We think he is going to get a lot better even though he is really good right now. You can see him on the move. He has such great strength at the holding point. I think he is going to really help us on the inside. Again, trying to stay with the same theme of what we are trying to get done and that is what we were able to get done today.”
DC: (on if there was a thought to trade up from No. 42 to get Laviska Shenault Jr. or if there were enough players the team had in mind) “We actually had enough players in mind. We felt that as long as receivers were going to go that were not Laviska, we were going to be happy with that because he was the guy that we kind of had targeted there. If by chance he did go, we had enough players there where we would have felt good about possibly trading back and still getting one of the players we liked.”
DC: (on DeVon Hamilton’s production) “His production per snap was really good. Like Coach Marrone said, since we lost Marcell [Dareus] with his injury, we have been missing a big body. That is why we got Al Woods. Now we have a young version of Al – 6’4, 320. He is a guy that can hold the point [of attack]. We will have a nice rotation with those guys. DeVon, Abry [Jones], Taven [Bryan]. We wanted to get bigger up front and protect our linebackers and Joe [Schobert] and Myles [Jack]. Now we have K’lavon Chassion. We feel good about the front seven. That was an area we wanted to improve and plus we got the corner on Day 1.”
DM: (on if there will be more of a 3-4 defense next year) “Yes. I think for sure on base downs, you will see more of our SAM linebacker on the ball.”
DM: (on what he sees the identity of the defense being a couple years from now if everyone develops as they hope) “Well the No. 1 identity that we have been talking about is the identity to be able to stop the run. In order to do that, you have to be big up front, you have to be physical and you are going to have to be able to tackle. That is something that has hurt us. That is something that we have put a priority on. We put a priority on it, we did it in free agency and we continue to do it as we work our way through this draft. I think that we were able to go out and get C.J. Henderson who is a corner. We feel he is a No. 1 type corner. He is a big guy. He can play against guys that have speed, he can play against guys that are big and try to outmuscle them. At the same time, we want to be able to cover on third down and let our rushers go. We feel that we have three outstanding rushers right now. We think we are going to get some really good push on the inside with a nice rotation there. A couple of guys really came along. [Dawuane] Smoot came along. He is going to help us. [Rodney] Gunter is going to be a guy that can help us. These big guys that we have are going to be able to create push. I think Taven [Bryan] took a good step near the end of the season and we expect him to take another step and really develop as a better three down player, a better pass rusher. That is what we are going to be.”
DM: (On WR Laviska Shenault Jr.’s versatility and ability to play from multiple different spots on offense) “I talked to him. Obviously, we feel he has the size and the speed to play outside. After we had drafted him and I got on the phone with him, both [Offensive Coordinator] Jay [Gruden] and I had a plan. We talked about how we’re going to do it and how we’re going to use him. I told him, I said, ‘Look, we have some plans,’ and you can put him in the backfield, he can play Wildcat, you can put him as the F-tight end, you can do a lot of things with him. You see it on his tape in 2018 and 2019. That’s one of the things that we looked at; we went back there, and I said, ‘Look, we can do all those things, but the whole key is going to be how well you grasp it, how well you pick it up.’ Because if he can, make no mistake about it, we want to be able to do those things.”
DC: (On if the Jaguars scouts have been tracking WR Laviska Shenault Jr. for two years) “Yeah.”
DC: (On what the team likes about WR Laviska Shenault Jr. and if his 2019 season’s numbers were caused by injury) “Yeah, I think so, and as you guys know, our scouts, they’re already working on next year’s draft. By the time summer comes along and the next college season starts, we’ll already have grades on probably about 400-500 guys in next year’s draft. Coming out of this time last year, he was our highest rated receiver. When you look at his 2018 tape, he was a guy that we’ve been targeting and looking at, following, and you saw his play dip and when you realized some of the reasons why, the kid is tough as nails. He played through some things that players at our level haven’t played through over the course of a season. He went through it all, went through the postseason, went through the combine and got his stuff taken care of. We feel that any issue that he had will be taken care of by the time that training camp comes along.”
DM: (On if he feels like the defensive front has been rebuilt) “That’s what we’re trying to do, you know what I’m saying? I don’t want to be that guy… We still have a lot of work ahead of us. We have players that have the potential to do that. There’s no doubt about it, but now we’re going to have to put the work in and earn it and then show it and then prove it each week. I am excited. Like I said before, we have to be able to hold the point [of attack], we have to be able to stop the run. That’s going to help us win football games. I think that we’re doing everything we can to get that done. I think that we’ve remained consistent in what we’ve talked about. I think we’ve shown that we’re committed to that by what we’ve done. Like anything else, people can talk about stuff, but your actions are going to speak louder than your words and I think what you’re seeing right now is what we talked about and that’s what we’re trying to get done.”
DC: (On staying committed to the draft board and matching your needs with best player available and the partnership between scouting and coaching) “The process has been really good and it’s been really seamless and enjoyable on my part with our coaching staff and our personnel staff. Good dialogue where everyone can speak freely and not be judged. Every draft is different and I think you guys have all read the reports of this draft being deep. I don’t think any personnel person in the league would probably dispute that. So our goal was, ‘We have 12 draft picks, we don’t want to be flippant with the picks.’ It’s easy to be like, ‘I have 12 picks, so let’s use this pick to trade up and trade that,’ but let’s just let the draft come to us and still get talented players that fit our culture, fit our locker room and that can come in and compete at a high level. I think although there has been times where I’m like, ‘Uhhh, maybe we should give a [fifth-rounder] to go up and get this guy,’ or somebody made the point of [wide receivers] Tee Higgins and [Michael] Pittman going off, and ‘Is this the start of the receiver run? Should we go get Laviska?’ We thought about it and I think we just said, ‘Let’s stick to the philosophy of this year’s draft. I’m not saying that’s every year’s draft. Next year, it may be different. With what we saw on the board and where our board was set, I feel good about our board and sure enough, they’ve come off… our personnel staff has done a great job and our coaches have done a great job of helping us set it and they’ve come off like we thought they would.”
DM: (On if there is talent available in the later rounds to address any offensive needs) “I feel like we’re going to have players that are going to have traits that are going to be able to get that done. We’re not done yet. I think that a lot of times there is so much attention that gets put on these first two days with these first three rounds. There are high expectations for these players, and I understand that. For me, now we’re going into these later rounds where we’ve gotten some good players in the past, whether it’s in later rounds or free agency, and I think there’s a lot of money to be made. You know what I’m saying? That’s what Dave and I talked about. We’re going to go in there hard and take a good look and keep these conversations going. That’s the one thing that we’ve had. We’ve had a ton of dialogue throughout the day, prepping for these days, prepping coming up to it, coaches and scouts. And I really believe that just because of all this dialogue and all this talk, we’re not necessarily going to always agree, but it’s very easy when everyone is talking where we should go. I’m excited about that, but I never want to be, ‘Oh we did a good job!’ It’s not even done. We’ve got eight picks still left that we’ve got to work just as hard and really focus on getting those guys just as hard as we did in those early ones and finish this thing strong and get ourselves a really good core of players.”
DM: (On what sort of feedback Wide Receivers Coach Keenan McCardell offered on Laviska Shenault Jr. and how much he relied on his evaluation) “Keenan is a guy that has played the position. He’s always done a very good job of evaluating the receiver position along with our scouts, and has always done a good job of developing guys in that position. He has great insight. So anyone who has great insight and is a good evaluator, you’re going to listen to him. It’s part of the process. You know, our scouts are at schools talking to those coaches, our coaches talk to them, [Offensive Coordinator] Jay Gruden has to look at them, see how he likes them, I’ve got to look at them. So there’s a lot of things that go on and Keenan’s obviously going to play an important role in this kid’s future. He’s going to be in that meeting room. He’s going to learn from him. He’s going to work. He’s going to become a better football player just because he’s got a good coach like Keenan McCardell.”
DC: (On if he had graded Laviska Shenault Jr. has a first-round prospect) “Unbeknownst to a lot of people, we don’t put round grades on players, but that’s a good question and every team is different. We kind of set the board based on what we feel a player’s value is and we thought he would be what we call a three-down starter for us, so we thought he was a starter and we kind of placed him in a ranking order. We would have had no issue taking him in the first round, if that answers your question. Obviously he had the skill set and like we said off of his ’18 film, we thought going into the season he would have been in the mix with Jerry Jeudy and CeeDee Lamb and the [Henry] Ruggs of the world. He still had a very good season, it was just a step down from ’18. And then with the receiver class as big as it was, I just think he kind of fell by the wayside a little bit, but we’re happy that he did and we’re happy to make him a Jag.”
DC: (On if he’s been reluctant to use “ammo” to trade because he’s turned the pick in quickly every time) “I haven’t been reluctant, I just felt like we had options at every pick. As the pick gets closer and closer and we’re like, ‘Okay, well there’s two picks to go and we feel good about three players or five players,’ so there’s no real need to trade up. There’s been enough players that we like. I keep reminding myself and also our personnel staff that just because…everybody’s board is different. Our board is different. And the players, even though we have them ranked, and we look at it like, ‘Hey, they’re going to come off like this.’ That’s now how it works, and especially when you start to get in the second, third, fourth and these later rounds. You’re going to see guys come off that you’re like, ‘Wow, that’s not anything how we had him ranked.’ And that’s OK, but I think that’s where you think everyone’s board is ranked identical and it’s not. I think sometimes patience pays off.”
DM: (on his message to his current offensive line by not drafting one) “I think we have some good competition behind those guys right now. Like I said before, we’re not finished. Will Richardson, we have to get him locked him into a position. Tyler Shatley has done a good job for us. Younger players that we have that I’m looking forward to seeing how they progress. I know they’re working hard. I know they’ve been working from after the season. They all have. I just think it’s a position where we looked at some players and just felt like, like I said all along, I think those players have a lot on their plate to make sure they improve. We’ve said that. We really think they’re going to make a big jump. I’m excited about it. I think (Offensive Line Coach) George Warhop is one of the best coaches that’s in the league coaching the offensive line. He was with them for one year, and I said before, we all know that it’s all on those guys up front to step up. There are still a couple of guys on this board that I think have the ability to come in and compete, and we’ll see where they are when we pick.”
DC: (on where WR Laviska Shenault Jr. is health-wise and if he’ll be ready for camp) “He’s fine. He’s cleared now. Our team doctors and our training staff have a good grade on them. He had a very minor procedure done after the Combine that a lot of our players have done at the end of seasons and stuff like that, so he’s good. He’s running routes. He’s out there moving around and, in speaking with people around him, our doctors felt that this procedure he had really is going to make him right, make him whole and correct a lot of his underlying issues that he may have had throughout the season.”
DM: (on the high praise that the team’s draft picks have received from their coaches) “You talk to them, and everybody is a little bit different. I think they’ve had a lot of great things to say and that weighed in quite a bit to our evaluation of these players. Maybe they’re not as vocal but they lead by example, or they’re vocal or you’re never going to have to worry about him. You get a lot of that. When they’re good players and they’ve been good in the locker room and they’re good on these college campuses and in their community, and then really what that means is now you can coach football and whole focus can be on football. I really believe that when you don’t have a lot of things going on on the outside with this person or that person or whatever it may be, and you can totally focus just on football when you’re in the building, you have a chance to be a pretty good player. Same with coaches. Same with anybody who’s in that building. We just got four guys that are focused on football and being good teammates, learning their teammates, earning the right to play and competing for a position.”
DC: (on the lack of trades in this year’s draft) “Like we said, it’s a deep draft and teams probably don’t feel like they need to make as many bold moves of going up and trading, and sometimes teams do because they have their hearts set on a guy or you’ve seen some teams like the Saints that traded a future pick to come way up for a pick and maybe more so wanted to get a guy a year early. I think by in large, it’s because you have multiple options at virtually almost every position. It’ll be interesting to see as the fourth round starts to go, the fifth round to see if there is any more trading. I know last year there was a lot more trading than in years past in the later rounds which I thought was odd because normally, like I said, everybody’s board is different. In the fifth, sixth round, you’re better off usually staying put and you’ll probably get the guy you want. Other than that, it’s been good. Part of the deal with the mute fiasco was I was actually on the phone negotiating a trade and so time was running short, and I was trying to make sure (Director of College Scouting) Mark (Ellenz) had the name if I didn’t agree to the trade and sure enough, we didn’t agree to a trade so I wanted to make sure. It was kind of funny, but we got it in.”
DC: (on Leonard Fournette’s status on the team) “To be honest, I don’t have a whole lot to add. I don’t think there’s any news there, and I think if there was, we would probably give it to you.”
