Luke Joeckel spent most of the pre-draft process hearing he was going to be the No. 1 overall pick.
It didn't work out that way, of course. The Kansas City Chiefs selected Eric Fisher, allowing Joeckel to fall to the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 2.
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Nearly two months removed from draft day at Radio City Music Hall, Joeckel acknowledges it wasn't easy to lose the top spot to another offensive tackle.
"At the time it was not the most pleasant thing ever," Joeckel told Matt "Money" Smith and Bucky Brooks on the Draft Tracker podcast. "But, first off, I'm just so happy to be here in Jacksonville. It's a perfect fit for me, you can't beat sunny Florida.
"At the time, it definitely kind of put a chip on my shoulder, not being the first tackle taken," he went on. "Which is a good thing, it's a good thing to help drive you and help compete against another guy in your same position. A guy that got the first pick in front of me."
Like Fisher, Joeckel was a left tackle in college who will begin his NFL career on the right side. He acknowledges that he's a work in progress.
"It's going to be a process. I definitely got better at it every single day through OTAs and minicamp," Joeckel said. "It's something that I'm not going to just go out on the field and be totally comfortable with it.
"We've got enough practice and enough time to prepare for the season by game one and by preseason game one I'm going to be totally comfortable and be 100 percent comfortable ... and all I can do right now is just get better at my sets and run steps every single day."
Logic would dictate Joeckel is the team's left tackle of the future, but Jacksonville already has an above-average option at the position in Eugene Monroe. Having two high-impact tackles isn't a bad thing, but the Jaguars will have a decision to make as Monroe enters a contract year.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
