Whether the Jacksonville Jaguars' reported interest in Texas A&M offensive tackle Jake Matthews is real or a smokescreen, the club reportedly brought the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews in for a visit last Thursday, just two weeks before they'll have to decide what to do with the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL draft.
The Florida Times-Union's Ryan O'Halloran reported via Twitter more than two weeks ago that an offensive tackle pairing of Matthews and his former Aggies teammate, Luke Joeckel, was a consideration for the club. Joeckel was the Jaguars' first-round pick, No. 2 overall, last year.
According to espn.com, that interest manifested itself in the form of a visit last week.
While the Houston Texans aren't expected to choose an offensive tackle with the No. 1 overall pick, the possibility of the St. Louis Rams beating the Jaguars to Matthews with the No. 2 pick is a real one. All four NFL Media analysts who have submitted mock drafts project the Rams to choose an offensive tackle with the No. 2 pick, two expecting Matthews to be the choice, two others seeing Auburn offensive tackle Greg Robinson as the Rams' pick.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher knows the Matthews family especially well, having been Bruce Matthews' college teammate and having coached him in the NFL. The elder Matthews, now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played 19 NFL seasons.
While drafting back-to-back offensive tackles with top-three picks would certainly be unorthodox, keep in mind that the Jaguars worked Joeckel at right tackle last year before he endured a season-ending injury at left tackle. If the plan for Matthews was to play the left side, Joeckel would already have the benefit of some experience on the right.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
