NEW YORK — This post goes back a few picks, but I was still collecting opinions on Jacksonville’s selection of DE Tyson Alualu, which may have surprised you Jaguars fans. You weren’t the only ones.

The consensus among our analysts was that Alualu was a second-round pick, a drastic gap from where the Jaguars selected Alualu at No. 10 overall.

Pat Kirwan had Alualu rated in the bottom of the second round, in the 60s overall. Gil Brandt also had Alualu in the sixth tier of players — between No. 51 and 60 — in his Hot 100 rankings. Bucky Brooks also had Alualu as a second-round pick, but notes that some felt he’d be taken late in the first-round. The feeling is Alualu is a good player, but no one expected top-10.

“I loved him at the Senior Bowl, but I never thought he could get himself into the first round,” Kirwan told me earlier. “I see the value in the player, but it’s a stronger statement about Bryan Price. There were three defensive linemen sitting there that I thought were of better value. Price, Jared Odrick and Dan Williams were still on the board. That’s what surprised me most. That’s what made it intriguing to me.”

Steve Wyche posted earlier that the Jaguars are taking a gamble with Alualu.

– Frank Tadych

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