James Gladstone Has Shown What Jaguars' Priorities Are

The Jacksonville Jaguars have had a quiet offseason, but their moves in free agency confirm what the front office believes is most important.

Sep 15, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line Anton Harrison (77), offensive line Brandon Scherff (68), and offensive line Mitch Morse (65) wait to line up for the drive against the Cleveland Browns during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

Football games are won and lost in the trenches. However, for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the trenches have been a disappointing area of the game. The Jaguars have spent most of the past few seasons being dominated in the most critical facet of the game, which has cost them dearly.

Jacksonville cleaned house this offseason, bringing in James Gladstone as their new general manager and Liam Coen as their head coach. Both have publicly expressed their desire to improve the Jaguars' offensive and defensive lines, as it will be hard to succeed otherwise.

Gene Frenette of The Florida Times-Union recently analyzed the Jaguars' offseason moves. He noted the Jaguars' efforts to beef up their offensive line this offseason. Most of the players the Jaguars signed this offseason were offensive linemen, which is a clear need for Jacksonville.

"GM James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen, who truly values a good running game, recognized that glaring weakness on tape and have invested in correcting that problem," Frenette said.

"Four of the Jaguars’ 10 free-agent signings were offensive linemen, which might seem like overkill. But when you convert only 15 of 28 third-and-one situations like last season, that speaks to a lack of physicality up front, and the Jaguars couldn’t afford to skimp on potential remedies.

Frenette noted that the Jaguars' new-look front office has made it evident that they aim to improve the team's offensive and defensive lines.

"Clearly, the new leadership structure, especially VP of Football Operations and Hall of Fame offensive tackle Tony Boselli, felt strongly about a makeover in the O-line mindset," Frenette said.

"The Jaguars made substantial, but not crazy, investments in replacing retired center Mitch Morse and aging right guard Brandon Scherff. They committed $30 million in guaranteed money to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers center and ex-Baltimore Ravens guard to fill those respective positions.

"Gladstone took it a step further by bringing in reinforcements, signing as competition for left guard Ezra Cleveland and Philadelphia Eagles’ swing tackle on a one-year deal for a similar role."

The Jaguars have made a solid effort to improve their offensive line. They can add more talent to the unit via the upcoming NFL Draft, and they would be wise to do so.

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