I think that because the Jags have played good football, prior to last season, they have been exempt from draft related ridicule.  Not anymore.

This off season, the Jags have parted ways with some players who were once high draft picks and now they have some big holes in their roster to fill.

lets take a look at some of the Jacksonville Jaguars biggest first round busts:

Byron Leftwich, 2003, #7,

Coming out of Marshall, Leftwich looked to have all the tools to be a successful NFL QB, that all changed a couple of years later when the Jags released him.   Leftwich recently signed on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has a chance to be the starter.  I think that Byron is a serviceable quarterback, but he will never be a star.

Reggie Williams, 2004, #9

Williams looked the second coming of Terrell Owens when he was drafted into the NFL. He was big, fast, and had great hands.  After a couple of years in the league, he has fallen out of favor with the Jags and remains an unsigned free agent.

Matt Jones, 2005, #21

Poor Matt Jones, the former college star has fallen on hard times recently, since his days at Arkansas.  Jones’ performance at the combine boosted his draft status as a can’t miss pro-prospect, but he never really panned out.  The final straw for Jones’ career were his two drug-related arrests.

Marcedes Lewis, 2006, #28

Marcedes Lewis has done very little since being drafted out of UCLA.  He has only totaled 5 touchdowns in his career.  However, during the second half of last year he started to pick up his play, so there might be some hope for this guy.  At least he is still on the team.

The Draft is a way for a team to get better and also a way to get even worse.  Here is a look at the biggest draft busts from 2002-2006.

I will give the players drafted in the last two years the benefit of the doubt, because they have not played  enough football to be considered a bust.

David Carr, Houston Texans, 2002, #1,

Carr was supposed to be the face of the Texans franchise when he was drafted first overall in 2002 out of Fresno State.  Instead he became a poster-boy for a horrible draft year. Are you paying attention Detroit Lions.

Charles Rogers, Detroit Lions, 2003, #3,

Rogers was yet another Matt Millen first-round mistake.  During his short career Rogers was plagued by injuries and inconsistency.  The last we herd from this guy he was on his way to the slammer.

Robert Gallery, Oakland Raiders, 2004, #2,

Gallery was supposed to be the pillar of Oakland’s O-line when he entered the league in 2002.  Since then they have tried him at different positions, but he is not the type of lineman they thought they were getting.  Unlike the previous two busts, at least he is still on the team, so he gets some credit.

Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers, 2005, #1,

In all fairness to the 49ers, the 2005 draft was one of the worst in recent memories, as there were multiple first-round busts.  However, that  still does not excuse them from wasting a valuable pick on Smith.  He still has a chance to prove he can play, but that doesn’t seem likely.

Vernon, Davis, San Francisco 49ers, 2006, #6,

What a surprise, another horrible pick for San Fran.  Davis has only been in the league for  2 years, but he is yet to prove he belongs there.  Davis is the classic example of a guy who had a great combine and was drafted way too high.  He is still young and has chance to start  producing, just make sure this guy is not on you fantasy team.

Honorable mention:  Joey Harrington, Reggie Williams, Byron Leftwhich,Troy Williamson,

Pro Football Talk is reporting that Williams was arrested in Houston on Sunday night.

“Williams was arrested in Houston on Sunday night for felony possession of a controlled substance, which is believed to have been cocaine.  Williams reportedly was Tasered in the process of being arrested.  On February 27, Williams was arrested for DUI and marijuana possession.”

Tasered and arrested, not an ideal way to spend a Sunday night.  If you were the GM of an NFL franchise would you take a chance on either of these guys?