"When the Jaguars promoted Gene Smith to general manager in 2009 and gave him final authority on draft-day decisions, he made it immediately known that the "character" component in building an NFL roster was of paramount importance. Smith has clearly put added emphasis on avoiding players with any significant baggage. So much so, he has acquired a reputation as one of the league's most reluctant GMs when it comes to drafting or signing character-risk players. "We both know Gene Smith is a stickler for off-the-field issues," said NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock. A lot of that is because Smith, an Ohio native with conservative, blue-collar values, has seen the Jaguars get burned quite often in the past decade by acquiring players accompanied by question marks. It happened with wide receiver R. Jay Soward, the No. 29 overall pick in the 2000 draft, who had maturity issues at Southern Cal that became a bigger problem once NFL fame and riches came along." Read more: http://jacksonville.com/sports/foot...spective-jaguars-can-leave-their-baggage-door
