Assessing the Most Pressing Needs Facing the 2021 Jaguars: Defensive Line Revamping Needed
The Jacksonville Jaguars and the NFL are now sitting at the foot of a new offseason. Another cycle of player movement, stars and rosters being reshuffled, big contracts being signed, and high draft picks is upon us.
Maybe no team is poised to have a more important offseason for their short- and long-term future than the Jaguars entering 2021. The team has a new head coach in Urban Meyer, a new general manager in Trent Baalke, and eventually a new quarterback to lead the franchise.
But the Jaguars are fresh off a 1-15 season and have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to get back to being a competitive team. A 12-36 record over the last three seasons summarizes just how much the Jaguars' roster has deteriorated in recent years.
But which of the team's many needs are the most pressing? Which positions deserve the most attention and thought as the Jaguars navigate the offseason? We will go through what we see as the team's eight largest needs in a series of articles that examines two needs at a time.
The two most pressing needs are at quarterback and left tackle, but what about the third and fourth ones? We weigh in with our perspective here.
No. 3: Interior defensive line
If the Jaguars lined up for a football game today, they simply wouldn't have a defensive line capable of keeping them competitive in games. It was one of the biggest reasons the Jaguars finished 1-15 and near the very bottom of the league in most defensive metrics.
The Jaguars do have some capable edge players in Josh Allen and K'Lavon Chaisson. Allen was injured for much of the year but had flashes when healthy in 2020 and was a terrific performer in 2019. Meanwhile, Chaisson may have recorded just one sack in his rookie campaign but he ended the season as one of the AFC's most disruptive edge rushers over the league's final weeks.
But along the interior, there isn't much reason for optimism. If the Jaguars don't go into this offseason with a focus to upgrade the interior defensive line, either through free agency or the draft, then they will likely suffer the same fate in terms of effectiveness on defense next season.
Jacksonville's six primary defensive tackles last season — Doug Costin, Taven Bryan, Abry Jones, DaVon Hamilton, Daniel Ekuale, and Caraun Reid — combined for just 2.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and 13 quarterback hits. No defensive tackle had more than one sack, and only three of the six defensive tackles recorded one.
Hamilton and Costin proved to be valuable run defenders as rookies and should fit any scheme thanks to their strength at the point of attack. But neither generated much of a consistent pass rush in 2020, and there is n other interior player set to be on the roster who has a track record of being able to do so.
The Jaguars made a big bet on Taven Bryan in 2018, but he has just 3.5 sacks in three seasons. It is time for the Jaguars to move on from Bryan and find an interior defender who can disrupt the quarterback. But replacing Bryan is just one part of the equation. The Jaguars need playmakers and depth. Essentially, they need an entire revamping of the defensive line room.
Some of the best defenses in the league are built through the middle of the unit. The Jaguars' defense has been at its best in recent years when it has had players capable of pushing the middle of the pocket to get to the quarterback. Malik Jackson's and Calais Campbell's stellar production from years ago is far gone. If the Jaguars are to rebuild their defense, they will need to find impact players to plug into the interior.
The options? The Jaguars could look to take a defensive tackle such as Alabama's Christian Barmore or Iowa's Daviyon Nixon with the No. 25 overall pick. If they would rather fill the vacancy with veterans, there will be free agent options such as Leonard Williams, Sheldon Rankins, Dalvin Tomlinson, or Larry Ogunjobi.
No. 4: Outside cornerback
CJ Henderson should be expected to be slotted in as a Day One starter, but the Jaguars have serious question marks after him. It still remains to be seen just how much of a consistent performer Henderson himself can be, too, so the Jaguars need to add as much cornerback talent this offseason as possible.
The Jaguars finished No. 31 in defensive passing DVOA in 2020, No. 31 in net yards per pass attempt allowed, No. 31 in yards per pass attempt allowed, and No. 30 in quarterback rating and adjusted net yards per pass attempt allowed. Simply put, the Jaguars' pass defense was a mess of epic proportions in 2020 and this was largely because the Jaguars didn't have a consistent stable of cornerbacks.
As of right now, two of Jacksonville's most experienced outside cornerbacks -- Tre Herndon and Sidney Jones --are set to be free agents in 2021 (Herndon is a restricted free agent). The Jaguars have other corners such as Chris Claybrooks who have experience on the outside, but Claybrooks entering 2021 as the team's starting cornerback would be a curious decision at best.
The Jaguars need to add reinforcements to the secondary no matter what. Even if the Jaguars decide to retain Jones or Herndon, they need to bring in a starting cornerback this offseason. In an ideal scenario, it would be a veteran cornerback, just as Jacksonville signed in 2017 with A.J. Bouye.
Who are free agent cornerback options this season? Patrick Peterson and Richard Sherman are aging veterans who are set to be free agents. William Jackson is likely the top cornerback on the market when you factor in his age, however, and he should be one of Jacksonville's top priorities when free agency begins.
The Jaguars could also look to draft a starting cornerback early in the first or second rounds like they did in 2020. This would give the Jaguars a young pair of corners to build the defense around moving forward, though there is some uncertainty in that regard in terms of projection.
