Jacksonville Jaguars first-round pick Dante Fowler, Jr. won't have much of an impact on the franchise during his first NFL season thanks to an ACL tear suffered during his first offseason practice as a member of the team.
While Fowler's injury will no doubt hamper the Jaguars hopes for 2015, another player selected by Jaguars GM David Caldwell much later in the most recent NFL Draft could be set for some serious snaps during his rookie year.
Wide receiver Rashad Greene, a sure-handed, consistent performer at Florida State, landed with the Jaguars in the fifth-round and despite carrying only a moderate draft pedigree, may be able to slot in behind a couple of recent Jacksonville receiver picks early, but push for significant playing time as the year wears on.
"They needed a slot receiver to pair with 2014 second-round picks Marqise Lee and Allen Robinson," writes Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com. "Greene can be the third receiver for Blake Bortles, and with Greene's reliable hands, he should be a trusted player to work underneath on third downs. Jacksonville also won't hesitate to push Greene on the field if he outplays Lee or Robinson."
With former first-round pick Justin Blackmon's NFL and Jaguars future in question, Greene has a pretty clear path to some playing time in Year One.
Greene, 5-foot-11, 182-pounds, has nothing particularly compelling about his game athletically, but is able to play both outside and inside and was very productive in place of Kelvin Benjamin as Jamies Winston's No. 1 target last year.
"Very productive in big games and at big times. Greene has the athleticism and quicks to get open and has a natural smoothness in his routes. He might get pigeon-holed into a slot position, but that might not be a bad thing. Greene needs more route polish but should be able to compete for snaps right away," NFL.com's Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft profile of Greene.
Per Campbell, Greene was held in very high regard by NFL personnel men prior to the draft based on his college tape, but his limited ceiling likely pushed him down to the fifth.
"Across the board, sources labelled Greene as an excellent college player," writes Campbell. "They felt that he may not have the skill set to duplicate that in the NFL though and lacked a lot of athletic upside. These sources don't believe that Greene is going to become significantly better than what he is right now."
The Jaguars do still have 2013 fourth-round pick Ace Sanders and last year's surprise undrafted free agent standout Allen Hurns on the depth chart as well. Sanders is a versatile talent able to handle return duties as well as fill a niche role on offense. His skill set coupled with his diminutive stature means Jags offensive coordinator Greg Olson probably will move him around the formation to create favorable matchups.
Sanders also struggled with injuries during a down second NFL season after posting good numbers his rookie year, so his contribution next year is uncertain.
Hurns burst out unexpectedly for the Jaguars last season, but slowed as the season wore on. He finished with 51 catches for 677 yards and six touchdowns. He seems like the likeliest competition for Greene for a starting spot next season for Jacksonville.
While it's still early and nothing is yet set in stone, if Greene can make a good first impression and prove to Olson and Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley that he deserves a role in his rookie season, he could potentially find himself catching passes from Bortles in three-wide sets from Day One.
