This is The Gridiron Review’s Jacksonville Jaguars 2023 Offseason Team Breakdown. We provide you with all things you need to know about the Jaguars heading into FA and the draft. We also provide our thoughts on the needs of the team and how we think they can be addressed!
Jacksonville Jaguars 2022 Record: 9-8
Jacksonville Jaguars Salary Cap(According to Spotrac): $-32,861,191
Notable Free Agents(According to Spotrac):
- Marvin Jones, WR
- Evan Engram, TE
- Jawaan Taylor, OT
- Arden Key, DL
- Dawuane Smoot, DL
- Tre Herndon, CB
- Andrew Wingard, S
Team Needs: RB(Depth), TE, OL, DL(Depth), CB(Depth), S(Depth)
3 Free Agent Targets(In No Order):
- Mike Gesicki, TE
- Nate Herbig, OG
- Andre Dillard, OT
Jacksonville Jaguars First Round Pick(s): Pick 24
3 Draft Prospect Fits/Targets:
- Sam LaPorta, TE, Iowa
- Andrew Vorhees, OG, USC (Tore ACL at the combine)
- Darnell Wright, OT, Tennessee
Our Jaguars Ideal Offseason Plans/Thoughts:
- Jaguars, where is your money? You haven’t even paid Lawrence yet… maybe Urban Meyer stole it on his way out.
- The good thing for the Jaguars is that they have strong starters on both sides of the ball. They also aren’t losing too many players to FA. They are losing a ton of depth though, and the depth of several position groups(see above) needs to be addressed.
- At WR, you paid Christian Kirk and Zay Jones last offseason, so they should start once again. Calvin Ridley has been reinstated. If they don’t bring Marvin Jones back, Jamal Agnew is WR4. This isn’t a knock on Agnew, he’s a solid player who knows his role, but we would not feel comfortable with him as an every down player at WR barring injury.
- At TE, Evan Engram just had a breakout season under Doug Pederson. He has been assigned the franchise tag, which means that bringing him back is high on their list of priorities(although it’s unclear what money they plan on signing him with). If they are unable to reach an agreement and in some crazy situation gets moved, Mike Gesicki could be a fit to replace Engram. If they wanted to address TE in the draft, Iowa’s Sam LaPorta fits the mold of Engram. A great receiving threat with below average blocking.
- The Jaguars offensive line, which is coming off a strong 2022, is only set to lose RT Jawaan Taylor. Taylor is coming off a pretty rough 2022 campaign where he committed 7 penalties and gave up 5 sacks. They have 2021 2nd round pick Walker Little, who could be asked to fill the void being left by Taylor. If they aren’t comfortable with Little, look for Pederson to bring in his guy from Philly Andre Dillard. Dillard has been sitting behind two of the best tackles in football and working with arguably the best o-line coach in the NFL. He would be a low cost option to replace Taylor. If they want to draft a replacement, Tennessee’s Darnell Wright would be a great option coming off a strong combine. The LG position could also be improved. Bartch and Shatley were okay, but when you have Lawrence, who had a breakout “rookie” campaign, you need to be better than okay on the line. We’ve been saying it for about a year now, the priority has to be protecting Lawrence. Pederson could bring in another one of his former picks in Philly, Nate Herbig, who’s expected to have a strong market this offseason. If not Herbig, USC’s Andrew Vorhees could be a potential prospect to take at pick 24. It depends on what it will cost based on his torn ACL at the combine.
- UPDATE: Evan Engram has been franchise tagged
- UPDATE: Shaq Griffin has been released. The Jags should be in the market for another CB now.