It has been a little more than four months and Luke Joeckel is still annoyed.
And the source of his irritation is coming to town on Sunday.
Joeckel is still miffed that the Kansas City Chiefs passed on him with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft, instead opting for another offensive tackle -- Eric Fisher of Central Michigan.
That he went one pick later to the Jaguars doesn’t ease his frustration, either.
"I’m a very competitive guy. I think every guy that was down in New York was competing for that first pick," Joeckel said. "Not getting that and having another tackle go before me, that puts a chip on my shoulder. I’m ready to work. It’s going to push me even harder. He’s a good player and all, but I’m ready to go prove Kansas City wrong."
If he wants a reason why the Chiefs opted for Fisher, he’s not going to get it from Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
"Both of them -- and I felt this way at the draft time -- are very good players," Reid said on a conference call. "They’re both going to have long careers and a lot of success in this league and I’m not going to get into why we did it. The end result was we did it and that speaks for itself.
"I think Luke is a heck of a football player and I think he’s done well in the preseason so I know he’s going to have a great career."
Joeckel isn’t unhappy in Jacksonville. Nor is he harboring the kind of grudge that Maurice Jones-Drew did because 32 teams passed on him in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft before the Jaguars took him in the second.
Joeckel just wanted to be the first player drafted. Sunday is his first chance to prove to the Chiefs that he should have been No. 1.
"There’s a little bit of a chip, but I’m ready to go," he said. "I’m glad I’m here and I’m playing for the Jags. Now we’ve got to go get a win."