Jacksonville Jaguars 2016 NFL mock draft
By John Buhler
Third Round: Tyler Matakevich: Outside Linebacker, Temple
Should Tyler Matakevich fall all the way to the top half of the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars should jump at selecting the 2015 Bronko Nagurski Award winner out of Temple University.
Matakevich was a big reason for the Owls’ successful 2015 NCAA campaign. Temple, better known for its basketball program, went 10-3 in 2015 and lost to the Houston Cougars in the American Athletic Conference championship game. Matakevich is the player many associate with the 2015 Temple football team.
Matakevich has the makings of a high IQ type of outside linebacker and could do well playing alongside inside linebacker Paul Posluszny. Jacksonville needs as many playmaker on the defensive side of the football they can find, so it should not matter if linebacker appears like a crowded position in the Jaguars organization. Head coach Gus Bradley will find ways to use Matakevich, Posluszny, Telvin Smith, and Dante Fowler, Jr. in the second level of his defense.
Bolster the front seven could prove more fruitful for the Jaguars’ turnaround defensively than just using high draft picks on secondary players. A vaunted Jaguars’ pass rush could in turn make the secondary look better anyways should the defensive backfield be able to ballhawk. Selecting Matakevich out of Temple seems like a fit for many reasons and if he’s available in the third round, Jacksonville should go after him before someone else does.
Next: Fourth Round