This is the Gridiron Review’s grading and breakdown series of every team’s offseason. This article is the offseason in review: Jacksonville Jaguars.
Players Retained:
Offense: Mekhi Sargent, RB; Laquon Treadwell, WR; Tyler Shatley, C; Cam Robinson, OT
Defense: Adam Gotsis, DL; Tyrell Adams, LB; Tre Herndon, CB
Key Losses:
Offense: Dare Ogunbowale, RB; Carlos Hyde, RB; DJ Chark, WR; Tavon Austin, WR; Terry Godwin, WR; Josh Hammond, WR; James O’Shaughnessy, TE; Jacob Hollister, TE; Brandon Linder, C; AJ Cann, OG; Andrew Norwell, OG
Defense: Taven Bryan, DL; Jihad Ward, DL; Lerentee McCray, DL; Myles Jack, LB; Damien Wilson, LB; Dakota Allen, LB; Dylan Moses, LB; Nevin Lawson, CB
Specials: Matthew Wright, K
Key Free Agent Pick-ups:
Offense: Christian Kirk, WR; Zay Jones, WR; Marvin Hall, WR; Evan Engram, TE; Brandon Scherff, OG; Wes Martin, OG
Defense: Arden Key, DL; Foley Fatukasi, DL; Foyesade Oluokun, LB; Wyatt Ray, LB; Rashod Berry, LB; Darious Williams, CB; Xavier Crawford, CB
Specials: Ryan Santoso, K
Trades(If Applicable):
None
Draft Class:
- Round 1, Pick No. 1: Travon Walker, EDGE, Georgia
- Round 1, Pick No. 27: Devin Lloyd, LB, Utah
- Round 3, Pick No. 65: Luke Fortner, C, Kentucky
- Round 3, Pick No. 70: Chad Muma, LB, Wyoming
- Round 5, Pick No. 154: Snoop Conner, RB, Ole Miss
- Round 6, Pick No. 197: Gregory Junior, CB, Ouachita Baptist
- Round 7, Pick No. 222: Montaric Brown, CB, Arkansas
Our Offseason Grade: Paying players to be Jaguars, but looking more like house cats
Record Prediction(Division Rank): 6-11(2nd)
Summary:
Boy did the Jaguars try their hardest to make this team better. They spent stupid amounts of money in free agency and swung for the fences more than once in the draft with high ceiling low floor players. The one right move they did above all else was getting SOME stability at head coach. We are not the biggest Dougie P fans out there, but at least he is a known commodity and not Urban Meyer. He should bring a unifying presence to the locker room, although he did beef with Carson Wentz in Philly so hopefully there is nothing there about an ego problem. No matter what, it cannot be worse than Meyer. The problem is that Baalke was not fired with Meyer and he returned to do more Baalke things.
The QB room is hoping to see major improvement out of Trevor Lawrence. Behind him Beathard, Lutton, and rookie EJ Perry. The running back room gets Etienne back who is described as having a “Deebo type role” this year. James Robinson is still rehabbing his achilles injury, and is joined by rookie Snoop Conner and some other uninspiring players. The WR room was heavily invested in for average returns. We liked Kirk and Jones as underrated receivers in free agency, but Jacksonville played them as stars/superstars. Marvin Jones is still there, and they resigned Treadwell. Shenault is looking like a modern day bust, although we believe he hasn’t had a fair chance to date. He should be used, in our opinion, in a Cordarrelle type role like the Falcons do, but then what to do with Etienne? This offense could get creative with Pederson calling the plays. The issue is he liked to feature tight ends in Philly, and they just spent $9 million on one of the least dependable tight ends in football. We guess Dan Arnold will back Engram up which is not bad, but they are by no means safety nets for Lawrence. The offensive line is set at tackle, and have 2 new starting guards as well as third round center Luke Fortner.
On the defensive line, Pederson has built a nice rotation like he had in Philly. Arden Key finally showed signs of life, Josh Allen could ascend to be one of the best pass rushers in football, and Chaisson may do better as a rotational guy as well. However, taking Walker first overall was a massive risk and bad move in our eyes, and overpaying Fatukasi may be even worse. It’s a good rotation, but expensive and overdrafted (except Allen). The linebacker room saw them lose Myles Jack, but add Oluokun on a big free agent deal. He was worth it though as one of the best in football at linebacker. They drafted Lloyd in the first, another high ceiling low floor player, but then made a head shaking pick of Muma in the third. Where will he play? A wasted pick that should have been an offensive piece in our opinion. The secondary will actually be pretty good. Griffin, Williams (another pricey FA), and Campbell are a good starting trio. The three man safety rotation of Wingard, Jenkins, and Cisco is pretty good too. It, like the offense, could be a creative defense. The issue though is where will they all play to make their contracts and draft statuses worth the investments. We have this team getting six wins, mostly due to the worst division in football that they find themselves in, and finishing second in the South. There should be some improvement, but their finish is more about the division than it is about them.