All three Florida franchises have picks in the top ten of this week's NFL Draft, with cornerbacks projected by many to land in both Jacksonville and Tampa Bay. Most mock draft experts have the Buccaneers taking cornerback Morris Claiborne out of LSU with the No. 5 overall pick. While Claiborne is ranked as the top cornerback in the draft, Stephon Gilmore of South Carolina is making a strong push towards the top of the first round. Rob Rang of CBS lists the Jags as potentially one team that has Gilmore ranked as the top overall corner, and predicts Gene Smith will take him with the No. 7 pick:
Like the Rams a pick ahead of them, at first glance it would appear that the Jaguars would love the opportunity to protect their young quarterback Blaine Gabbert with a playmaking receiver like Blackmon. There is considerable buzz throughout the league, however, that should the team be unable to trade down, general manager Gene Smith prefers Gilmore, even ranking him ahead of Claiborne as the top cornerback in the draft.
This goes against many predictions that the Jaguars will not pass on Justin Blackmon if he's available at seven. Rang has the Oklahoma State wideout dropping to No. 9 and the Carolina Panthers.
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