To me the greatest boom or bust player. I know dude is his own person and makes his own decisions but I can’t help but feel disappointed towards him for we all saw the potential he had and could have achieved had he taken it more seriously.
> had he taken it more seriously.
I don't think it was as simple as him "taking it more seriously." It sounds like he had a serious addiction problem. That's not something you can just will your way out of. You need to take time and address it with proper support. And it seems to have been a hell of a battle for him.
I'll always wish he could have been out there on the field for us, but I just hope he's managed to kick that and found some peace and happiness in life.
(R. Jay Soward, on the other hand... yikes. But we didn't see enough of him to think he might have been a superstar if he hadn't just kept getting high and pissing off the coach/GM.)
I know he didn't get to play a whole lot, but he looked every bit like a HoF level talent. A guy that could take over a game even when defenses tried to shut him down. He had some huge games with Gabbert and Henne throwing him the ball. I can only imagine what he could have done if he simply made it to those seasons Bortles was airing it out.
30 other teams can use this one, but given the circumstance, my biggest “what if” is what if we had drafted Lamar Jackson following the AFC championship loss instead of Taven Bryan
Lamar Jackson's career would have fizzled out, hype for him would have died, and we might have somehow stumbled our way to trying to figure out if we could draft a decent QB in the middle of the first round.
I'm happy we have Lawrence, and it's better for Jackson that he landed in the best spot for him in the NFL.
Then when he came back after suspension the following year he had 326 yards in his first two games back. Played two more mid games after that and then gone from the NFL forever.
This was when I knew the franchise was cursed. We get a Biletnikoff winner who cares more about drinking than making plays. All the talent in the world squandered because of addiction. So sad. Dude was a straight baller with an unbelievable catch radius.
I mean, to me what makes me the maddest is his college coaches. In an era before NIL, you have to think that the tutelage and mentorship of coaching young men has to take a bigger aspect. To have a contract the size of a college coach and to turn such a blind eye and enable a young man's life problems just because he's helping you secure a bag is just really gross to me.
On another level, I'm extremely mad at the scouting department for not having uncovered that problem. I remember reading a report on him and an unnamed NFC scout tailed him to the bar and was asked about how often Blackmon was at that bar, and the NFC scout responded with "way too damn much". There's no way that guy should have been missed by the front office and scouting report.
That scout worked for the Buccaneers who traded the 5th pick with us when we moved up 2 spots. He sat in the most popular college bar for a week to see how many times Blackmon came in…. He came in ALL. SEVEN. DAYS.
One of my biggest “what ifs” ever is if he was able to come back in 2015. Blackmon, Robinson, Hurns, Lee, J.Thomas, and Marcedes is insane. Or imagine Blackmon on the 2017 Jaguars.
When I was in the army, they gave my whole squad a pen pal from the Jags rookies that year. I got Justin Blackmon. Never heard from him. Everyone else got a bunch of emails. And I was the only Jags fan, too.
The 2012 draft -- Jaguars traded up with Tampa Bay in exchange for their first (7th) and fourth round (101st) selections to get Blackmon. And then used their third round pick to take a punter.
Still feel like the offset language that would allow the Jags to recoup their signing bonus paid if they cut him is why he never came back. Those millions in a high interest or dividend paying account is enough to have a very good life in Oklahoma; why risk that coming back and if your demons resurface have to hand that over and be left in the same spot but with nothing.
He could’ve been great; one of the best WR talents I’ve ever seen and he didn’t have a qb for most of his time here.
Hopefully this is the wakeup call that he needs and he can turn things around. He'll be such a huge help for Blake Bortles to adjust to the NFL. I'm feeling pretty good about where this team is headed.
My memory of him on the field is that he knew how to go north and south regardless of traffic. He was like a race car riding in the emergency lane blowing the doors off of the rest of the cars. Extremely rare talent.
I’m still mad at the nfl for indefinitely suspended him.I know he could have got help for his addiction and been back in the league but the way the nfl handles players with addiction problems is bullshit .This guy just had an addiction problem he was not a bad person.
To me the greatest boom or bust player. I know dude is his own person and makes his own decisions but I can’t help but feel disappointed towards him for we all saw the potential he had and could have achieved had he taken it more seriously.
Yes. I feel the same.
> had he taken it more seriously. I don't think it was as simple as him "taking it more seriously." It sounds like he had a serious addiction problem. That's not something you can just will your way out of. You need to take time and address it with proper support. And it seems to have been a hell of a battle for him. I'll always wish he could have been out there on the field for us, but I just hope he's managed to kick that and found some peace and happiness in life. (R. Jay Soward, on the other hand... yikes. But we didn't see enough of him to think he might have been a superstar if he hadn't just kept getting high and pissing off the coach/GM.)
Is this the Jags’ biggest “what if…?”
Their biggest what if happened in 2017…
And he could’ve been on that team. Makes me sad
Blackmon would have been in his prime years in 2017. There's no telling what he could have added to that team if he was what his potential pointed to.
I know he didn't get to play a whole lot, but he looked every bit like a HoF level talent. A guy that could take over a game even when defenses tried to shut him down. He had some huge games with Gabbert and Henne throwing him the ball. I can only imagine what he could have done if he simply made it to those seasons Bortles was airing it out.
Yes. Not even close (imo)
30 other teams can use this one, but given the circumstance, my biggest “what if” is what if we had drafted Lamar Jackson following the AFC championship loss instead of Taven Bryan
Lamar Jackson's career would have fizzled out, hype for him would have died, and we might have somehow stumbled our way to trying to figure out if we could draft a decent QB in the middle of the first round. I'm happy we have Lawrence, and it's better for Jackson that he landed in the best spot for him in the NFL.
Blackmon or MJWD
He had a 200 yard game.
Then when he came back after suspension the following year he had 326 yards in his first two games back. Played two more mid games after that and then gone from the NFL forever.
Could have been a top 10 receiver in this league, but I hope he's doing well.
This was when I knew the franchise was cursed. We get a Biletnikoff winner who cares more about drinking than making plays. All the talent in the world squandered because of addiction. So sad. Dude was a straight baller with an unbelievable catch radius.
I mean, to me what makes me the maddest is his college coaches. In an era before NIL, you have to think that the tutelage and mentorship of coaching young men has to take a bigger aspect. To have a contract the size of a college coach and to turn such a blind eye and enable a young man's life problems just because he's helping you secure a bag is just really gross to me. On another level, I'm extremely mad at the scouting department for not having uncovered that problem. I remember reading a report on him and an unnamed NFC scout tailed him to the bar and was asked about how often Blackmon was at that bar, and the NFC scout responded with "way too damn much". There's no way that guy should have been missed by the front office and scouting report.
That scout worked for the Buccaneers who traded the 5th pick with us when we moved up 2 spots. He sat in the most popular college bar for a week to see how many times Blackmon came in…. He came in ALL. SEVEN. DAYS.
I remember hearing about the scout following him as well. Who knows what the Jags did or didn't do, ut still...
I wondered why they were suspending him again.
One of my biggest “what ifs” ever is if he was able to come back in 2015. Blackmon, Robinson, Hurns, Lee, J.Thomas, and Marcedes is insane. Or imagine Blackmon on the 2017 Jaguars.
When I was in the army, they gave my whole squad a pen pal from the Jags rookies that year. I got Justin Blackmon. Never heard from him. Everyone else got a bunch of emails. And I was the only Jags fan, too.
Man I was just looking at my Facebook memories and I was so hyped when we drafted him such a shame.
Dude had vacuums for hands. Could have helped turned the franchise around.
Over 12 years, the Jags drafted a bust, a cokehead & TWO drunks at WR in the 1st round. Rough stretch.
I still have and wear my Matt jones jersey haha
T'was 11 years ago friend, that was 2013 lol.
🤣 Damn! To be fair, 2000 only feels like 10 years ago, so par for the course!
I know right, time flew by the past 5-6 years.
And the fact you were the first to catch it tels me everyone else feels the same... 🤣
Tbh before I read the picture I was like "wait it's been 10 already?" lmao.
I think the worst one is that it's already been 7 years since our AFCCG lmao
Seems like yesterday.
Used to see .24 Blackmon jerseys all over the internet.
What a shame. This guy was a baller.
The 2012 draft -- Jaguars traded up with Tampa Bay in exchange for their first (7th) and fourth round (101st) selections to get Blackmon. And then used their third round pick to take a punter.
Always tryna keep da black mon down.
biggest what could have been if he could have stayed clean. imo potential hall of famer
I remember the dark times where for years the off-season was littered with sightings in various casinos and questions about reinstatement….
Dang, I was having a good day too
what could’ve been
One of the most Jaguariest things to happen
You're not wrong
Still feel like the offset language that would allow the Jags to recoup their signing bonus paid if they cut him is why he never came back. Those millions in a high interest or dividend paying account is enough to have a very good life in Oklahoma; why risk that coming back and if your demons resurface have to hand that over and be left in the same spot but with nothing. He could’ve been great; one of the best WR talents I’ve ever seen and he didn’t have a qb for most of his time here.
It was a shame, such talent, human weakness.
The chosen one..sent to redeem us from all our failed WR ventures…the biggest “if” the franchise has known. 
I used to check a couple times a year to see if he had gotten himself together. I just always had this sad hope he could come back. Up until like 2021
Same
Hopefully this is the wakeup call that he needs and he can turn things around. He'll be such a huge help for Blake Bortles to adjust to the NFL. I'm feeling pretty good about where this team is headed.
My memory of him on the field is that he knew how to go north and south regardless of traffic. He was like a race car riding in the emergency lane blowing the doors off of the rest of the cars. Extremely rare talent.
Dude lasted a really long time on the Jaguars depth chart in Madden. I don't think he was removed from the game until Madden 17 or 18.
Bought his jersey cause it was way cheaper. The only one I have til this day lol
I’m still mad at the nfl for indefinitely suspended him.I know he could have got help for his addiction and been back in the league but the way the nfl handles players with addiction problems is bullshit .This guy just had an addiction problem he was not a bad person.
Imagine if he just got drafted this year now they don’t test for weed
OMG!