Why should we draft Leftwich

I'd have preferred McNair. Obviously no one will tell you stay and take Ki-Jana, but I'd have shopped better. We got dicked on the trade down. It'd also be easy to say Sapp or Brooks in retrospect. But neither fit, necessarily, and I doubt either would have had great success in the 3-4.
McNair would have been my first option, he's the only guy I'd have taken #1. Kevin Carter would have been a decent fit, but even at that early point in any 'scouting" I didn't have a great feel for him. I imagine I'd ahve traded down further, gotten someone of impact. I guess maybe a tweener like Mamula or Douglas (never liked Darion Conner, even before he'd played for us), or another good young LB like Fields (had size for the inside or outside, speed - might have been a good strongside rusher). Some of those guys would have ended up to be slight reaches, some were great value. The reaches at that point worked out better.
Or I'd have considered Galloway or Westbrook at the trade down too.

If I were Jacksonville, I'd have easily taken McNair, sat him behind Beuerlein, and let him loose. They'd be better right now. Long term QB prospects do that for you, once they're good they tend not to suck as bad long term and then you keep winning once you put players around him.

What I'd have done about the OL was pretty much what we did - I'd have drafted a guy late first, Brockermeyer or Scott Gragg. I actually remember hoping Reuben Brown would fall and he didn't. But he was dominating. I remember really liking Stringer, too. Going with a QB, then getting Stringer, Zach Weigert, and Brendan Stai would have worked for us, and would have worked for this O as well. Dennis would have started at LT for a year (Graham would have sucked anyway) and then we would have adressed it with Willie Anderson the next year along with a second round back who actually bruises rather than gets bruised. By that time we did have enough talent overall to make a LT pick without worrying about impact. Whitley would have easily still started at C, and Elliott would have taken the G spot on short term. That's a decent line without going outside reason. And none of them were top ten picks, because it takes five players to make a line not one.


We know Delhomme can be adequate. We know we've had adequate for a number of years, and adequate barely squeaks us by. Adequate doesn't win championships or make you a long term contender. Even Warner has fizzled and I don't know if he'll ever be as big a force, despite having the most talent in the league with him.