5 Observations on Urban Meyer's Pre-FA Press Conference: Support For Norwell, Need for Speed at WR
Urban Meyer held a sermon on Tuesday, preaching everything about the Jacksonville Jaguars, the state of their roster, and how he plans to fix it.
Meyer was extremely open and detailed about where the Jaguars currently stand, where he wants them to be, and his vision to get them there. With free agency just a week away, now is the time for Meyer to begin to officially put down the foundation for his first NFL season.
So, what were our biggest takeaways from Meyer's pre-free agency press conference? We give five here.
Meyer likes, not loves, the wide receiver room
We already knew the Jaguars were going to have to make major investments in the wide receiver room this offseason -- 50% of the team's receiver's from last year's initial 53-man roster are set to be free agents next week. They have a talented trio in DJ Chark, Collin Johnson, and Laviska Shenault, but more is needed. With that said, Meyer made it clear just what kind of threat he is looking to add to the receiver group this offseason.
"Offensively, I think we have some really good receivers. We’re not done with that room, however," Meyer said. "If you’ve covered our teams over the years, the need for speed, the big play opportunity was not the Jaguars last year and we’re searching for the big play hit at the receiver position."
Meyer has a big-play threat in DJ Chark, but he is right. The Jaguars need someone who can take the top off the defense at any point of the game. A player who can take a jet sweep or a slant 50 yards for a score. Chark is a really good receiver who has been hamstrung by bad quarterback play, but the Jaguars truly do need that big-play addition, and it looks like Meyer agrees.
Expect for other additions at tight end; defensive line and secondary on defense
Meyer didn't mince his words when it came to the other areas of the roster he sees as currently problematic: tight end, the secondary, and the defensive line. There will be additions elsewhere, of course, but Meyer made an emphasis on what the Jaguars are lacking in each of those areas on Tuesday.
"From there, you look at a defense that really struggled in a lot of areas and I always believe you build your team around the defensive line and you move backwards, so that’s what we’re going to do," Meyer said. "Our defensive line, we feel good about it, a few of our players are pretty good. I just don’t want to go into names right now. I don’t think that’s fair to the players.
"But the defensive line will be solidified first and then we move to the back of the defense and our defensive secondary needs to be revamped in a few spots. ... The tight end room, that’s a room that’s going to have to be rebuilt in some ways."
Essentially, look for the Jaguars to be major players in each of those positions during the draft and free agency. We already knew these were needs for the Jaguars, but Meyer has made it abundantly clear that they aren't intending to enter 2021 with major holes in these specific areas. It is also worth noting that he didn't mention either the linebackers or the offensive line as areas he wants to see the team upgrade in; instead he supported the offensive line and projected for them to take another step forward in 2021.
Andrew Norwell was given the biggest vote of confidence of his Jaguars tenure
Ever since Andrew Norwell signed with the Jaguars in 2018, little has been thrown his way in terms of positive public comments -- whether that be from the fan base or from the Jaguars themselves. With that said, Meyer hitched his wagon to Norwell and threw his support behind the veteran left guard on Tuesday following questions about his reported uncertain future.
“He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached. He’s a guy that was the underdog when we got there at Ohio State. The offensive line at Ohio State was one of the worst in the Big 10, it became the best in the Big 10. He was a big part of it," Meyer said.
"I was not surprised to see him get a high free agency contract because he’s a grinder, he’s a worker, he’s a team guy, he’s a locker room guy. I see him being part of the Jaguars and I want him to be part of the Jaguars. For me personally, I love the guy because I know him better than most.”
You can go back and look for similar sentiments and rounds of endorsement for Norwell from the past Jaguars regime, but good luck finding it as long as you exclude their initial comments upon signing him to the largest contract the team has paid an offensive lineman. Norwell's names have swirled in rumors for the past few days, but Meyer put that to an end somewhat with his comments on Tuesday. Entering the day, it appeared to be an expectation he would be gone. Now it would be a minor surprise.
Ryan Stamper will have an important voice when it comes to bringing talent in
One of the most misunderstood things about free agency is the importance of culture fit. Just look at Trent Brown and the Raiders; fantastic player but it never worked out for either side from the start. The Raiders thought they could pay the best offensive linemen in free agency and automatically slot him into the core of the team, but free agency just doesn't work like that. Neither does the draft. You must bring in players who you are confident fit the entire direction of the franchise and the locker room.
Meyer clearly understands this and, as a result, it means we can expect Director of Player Assessment Ryan Stamper to have a heavy hand in the kind of players the Jaguars bring into the fold. This doesn't mean Stamper will be doing evaluations and hanging out grades for free agents and prospects, but Meyer made it clear that he will be a major part in identifying which players are the right fit for the Jaguars as people.
"Ryan Stamper is the director of assessment, and I don’t know if that position exists in the NFL. Once again I’ve been working on this for a long time. I just kept thinking about who do I trust, who do I know, who do I know [who knows] players, and who knows me and what I would expect to have in that locker room, and there’s none better than Ryan Stamper," Meyer said Tuesday.
"So, Ryan Stamper will be the person that on draft day, he’s going to have a voice in that draft room. As far as the assessment, we call it the mindset. What is the mindset of the player and does it fit the mindset that we’re looking for to be a Jaguar? That’s the competitive spirit, toughness, intelligence, leadership and adaptability. Do they have those qualities and that’s Ryan’s responsibility to work with our assistant coaches and scouts to find that out."
Positional coaches will play a more important role than ever
Among the most revealing comments Meyer made were the ones on the importance of his coaching staff in player evaluation. This is the case with each NFL team to various degrees, of course, but Meyer seemed to take the level of responsibility for positional coaches even beyond that.
"Ultimately, the tight end coach is responsible for who walks in that [meeting] room and he’s going to utilize every resource and that’s called scouts, that’s called scouting directors, that’s called a general manager, that’ called a head coach and coordinator and they’re going to do a deep dive," Meyer said.
"It’s also called zoom calls and finding out as much as he can about that person walking in his unit room. So, that’s the way we go about our business. Ultimately, each position coach is going to have a heavy hand in who comes in there, yet Trent and his staff obviously are the number one resource we use."
Meyer also noted the premium he and the Jaguars will place on prior relationships. Due to the current climate of the world, it is hard to bring players in and get to know them. Meyer is going to lean on his assistants and their knowledge of the league's players moving forward, making them more important to the Jaguars' success than ever.
