Groves, Lee go in second round

Quentin Groves spent most of Saturday waiting for a call.

But when it finally came, he almost didn’t recognize it.

Midway through the second round of Saturday’s NFL draft, Groves’ phone rang. The former Auburn defensive end, who was watching the draft with family and friends at his parents’ house in Greenville, Miss., answered.

The man on the other end, Jacksonville Jaguars vice president of player personnel James Harris, asked Groves if he would be able to attend the team’s minicamp in May. It’s a traditional question asked of draftees just before they’re selected.

But Groves didn’t want to leave any room for confusion. “I said, ‘In order to participate, I’ve got to be drafted first,’” Groves said with a laugh.

That wasn’t a problem. Moments later, the Jaguars officially selected Groves with the draft’s 52nd overall pick, the 21st of the second round.

Groves was one of two former AU players chosen on the draft’s first day. Former cornerback Patrick Lee was taken with the 29th pick of the second round, No. 60 overall, by the Green Bay Packers.

Groves had a few words of advice for Lee, a Miami native, on his future in chilly Wisconsin.

“Bundle up,” Groves cracked. “I’ll be in the warmth while he’s in the cold.”

Groves was one of two defensive ends selected by Jacksonville in the draft’s first two rounds. The Jaguars traded up 18 spots to draft Florida’s Derrick Harvey with the eighth pick of first round, then moved up six places in the second round to take Groves.

Jacksonville has a need on the defensive line: The team traded starting defensive tackle Marcus Stroud and lost pass-rushing defensive end Bobby McCray in free agency.

Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio sees Groves as an immediate contributor as a pass-rusher.

“What makes him real special is his talent to close on the quarterback,” Del Rio said of Groves in a press conference posted on the team’s Web site.
Groves isn’t concerned about having to compete with Harvey — or anyone else — for playing time on the Jaguars’ defense, which ranked 11th in the NFL last season. He’s just happy his draft-day vigil ended with good news.

“I was overwhelmed,” Groves said of learning he’d been drafted. “When they called my name, it was like a weight just got lifted.”

Lee, meanwhile, will compete for playing time in an aging Green Bay secondary. The Packers’ starting cornerbacks are 33-year-old Al Harris and 31-year-old Charles Woodson.

Lee is looking forward to the challenge.

“I feel great,” he said. “It’s a great experience — I just feel great about everything. I’m looking forward to getting back up there.”
In his draft-day press conference, Packers general manager Ted Thompson told local media he likes Lee’s potential.

“We feel very good that he was there,” Thompson said. “We didn’t have any idea that he would be there when it was our pick at 60. We feel that was a really good value pick.”

Former Auburn defensive tackle Pat Sims, projected by many draftniks as an early second-round pick, wasn’t selected on the draft’s first day. Sims is among the highest-rated prospects still on the board heading into today’s action, which will cover the third through seventh rounds.

Fullback Carl Stewart and offensive tackle King Dunlap are the likeliest to be selected among the other draft-eligible former Tigers. That list also includes tight end Cole Bennett, linebacker Eric Brock and cornerback Jonathan Wilhite.

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