Jaguars select Jack with 36th overall pick

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[April 30, 2016]  By Tom Musick, The Sports Xchange
 
 CHICAGO -- Nearly 24 hours after he arrived at the 2016 NFL Draft, UCLA linebacker Myles Jack finally heard his name called.

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Jack with the fifth pick of the second round -- 36th overall -- Friday night at Auditorium Theater. The 21-year-old playmaker was projected as a top-five talent but slipped out of the first round because of concerns about his surgically repaired right knee.

"It was just a sigh of relief," Jack said on a conference call. "I definitely wanted to go to Jacksonville. It's the ideal place that I really wanted to go."

Five Alabama players were selected in the second round. Running back Derrick Henry, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, went to the Tennessee Titans at 45th overall. On the Titans, Henry will join quarterback Marcus Mariota, who won the Heisman Trophy one year earlier with Oregon.

"I think you have to be able to run the football to win games," Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. "You have to be able to establish the run."

Other Crimson Tide players to be selected in the second round included linebacker Reggie Ragland (41st, Buffalo Bills), defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson (46th, Detroit Lions), defensive tackle Jarran Reed (49th, Seattle Seahawks) and cornerback Cyrus Jones (60th, New England Patriots).

Ragland will join Bills coach Rex Ryan's defense with first-round pick Shaq Lawson from Clemson.

"Shaq is a really good friend of mine," Ragland said. "I'm going to push him, he's going to push me."

The New York Jets drafted a quarterback for the fourth straight year when they chose Penn State's Christian Hackenberg at 51st overall. Hackenberg thrived as a freshman but struggled with consistency after former coach Bill O'Brien left to lead the Houston Texans in 2014.

Defensive players dominated the second day of the draft, representing 11 of the first 13 selections.

The Cleveland Browns opened the second round by selecting Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah at 32nd overall. The 6-foot-4, 273-pound pass rusher registered 13 sacks in 2015 and was honored as the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year.

"I will rush standing up," Ogbah said. "I will rush with my hands on the ground. Whatever they want me to do, I will do it."

Defensive ends Kevin Dodd from Clemson (33rd, Tennessee Titans) and Noah Spence from Eastern Kentucky (39th, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) each registered double-digit sacks one season ago. The Kansas City Chiefs also addressed the defensive line with their first pick of the draft by selecting Mississippi State defensive tackle Chris Jones at 37th overall.

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On offense, Arkansas' Hunter Henry became the first tight end to be selected in the draft when the San Diego Chargers grabbed him at 35th overall. Five choices later, the New York Giants turned to Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard, an undersized playmaker who started 41 games in college.

The Green Bay Packers gave up a fourth- and seventh-round pick to move up nine spots for the opportunity to select Indiana offensive tackle Jason Spriggs at 48th overall. Spriggs will be asked to improve protection for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was sacked 46 times in 2015.

Jones represented the Patriots' first selection of the draft at No. 60. New England forfeited its first-round pick as part of its punishment for the so-called Deflategate scandal of 2015.

Jack showcased rare athleticism on both sides of the ball before he injured his knee in September. At linebacker, he averaged more than 80 tackles in his first two seasons. He also shined at running back with seven rushing touchdowns as a freshman and three more as a sophomore.

The Jaguars chose Jack one selection after another injured college star found a home in the NFL.

Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith embraced his family after the Dallas Cowboys drafted him at 34th overall. Smith, who won the 2015 Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, was expected to be a high first-round pick before he tore two knee ligaments in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day.

Smith likely will miss the entire 2016 season but is expected to make a full recovery.

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