Breaking Down the Jaguars’ Offensive Free Agents

Which offensive players on the Jaguars are set the free agents this offseason?

The Jacksonville Jaguars could look a lot different in 2020. The team has a number of holes, a cap to maneuver, and players set to test the open market.

Jaguars' owner Shad Khan announced earlier this week head coach Doug Marrone and general manager Dave Caldwell would remain in their roles next season despite a 6-10 record in 2019. Khan said he wanted to see how the duo could build Jacksonville since, for the first time since 2016, Tom Coughlin is not calling the shots. 

One of the key areas Caldwell and Marrone will have to work thoroughly through as they try to turn the Jaguars around is free agency. Aside from adding to their roster through negotiating with players on the open market, Jacksonville will also have to sort through its own impending free agents.

So, which current Jaguars have expiring contracts the Jaguars will have to make decisions on sooner than later? 

Unrestricted free agents

TE Seth DeValve

Fourth-year tight end Seth DeValve joined Jacksonville after the Jaguars claimed him following 53-man roster cutdowns. Early on DeValve was the No. 3 tight end behind James O'Shaughnessy and Geoff Swaim, mostly serving as a fullback or H-back in offensive coordinator John DeFilippo's scheme. 

When a rash of injuries hit the Jaguars' tight end group, DeValve began to see more action. He played in 59% of the team's offensive snaps in Weeks 7 and 8 and caught a season-high four passes for 41 yards in Week 9. 

DeValve eventually suffered through his own injury, an oblique issue that saw him miss four games. He would finish the season with 12 catches for 140 yards and no touchdowns. Bringing him back would be inexpensive, and it is likely Jacksonville would consider it amongst the rest of their options to improve the tight end position.

TE Ben Koyack

Ben Koyack has been on and off of the Jaguars' roster for each of the last four years, and 2019 was more of the same. He was signed as a free agent in Week 6 after O'Shaughnessy suffered an ACL injury and ended up playing 259 snaps, nearly 25% of the Jaguars' offensive snaps. 

Koyack only recorded one catch for nine yards on three targets in 11 games in 2019. He primarily served as a blocking tight end and was about average in that regard. 

It is unlikely Koyack is a Jaguar again unless the team once again goes through a bad string of injuries

OT Ben Ijalana

The ninth-year offensive tackle signed a one-year deal with Jacksonville in August but was placed on injured reserve with elbow injury a few weeks later.

TE Nick O'Leary

A former member of the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, veteran tight end Nick O'Leary signed with Jacksonville after rookie tight end Josh Oliver was placed on injured reserve with a back injury after Week 11. 

In only six games with the Jaguars, O'Leary actually had decent production for a guy picking up the offense on the fly. He caught 13 passes for 109 yards and one touchdown, better numbers than both DeValve and Koyack. It would make sense if Jacksonville kept O'Leary around for depth in 2020.

OT Cedric Ogbuehi

A former first-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015, Cedric Ogbuehi was signed to a one-year deal by the Jaguars last offseason. He ended up serving as the team's top swing tackle after being sidelined with injuries in the first two games of the season. 

Ogbuehi went on to play 14 games for the Jaguars 2019, but he never started a game and only played more than 14 snaps twice. 

Jacksonville will be remaking its offensive line in 2020, and it remains to be seen if Ogbuehi is part of that. 

C Tyler Shatley

Tyler Shatley has been one of Jacksonville's key reserve offensive linemen since entering the NFL in 2014. He played more than 300 snaps and started at least four games in each of the previous three seasons, including a career-high seven starts in 2018, but was not needed as much in 2019. Starting enter Brandon Linder finally stayed healthy for the full course of a season, and Shatley played only four snaps while on a one-year contract. 

Jacksonville seems to be high on Shatley as a backup center, and while he barely played in 2019, he was active for every game. Expect him to be brought back on another cheap deal.

Restricted free agents

WR Keelan Cole

Keelan Cole didn't post great numbers in 2019, but he still had a solid season all things considered.

Cole posted career-low numbers in catches (24) and receiving yards (361) but posted a career-best catch rate (24 catches on only 32 targets led to 68.6% catch rate) and tied a career-high in receiving touchdowns (3). 

Cole did all of this while playing only 370 snaps (34%), which is more than 300 less snaps than he averaged in his first two seasons in Jacksonville. For whatever reason, he just did not see the field as much as he had in 2017 and 2018.

Cole had a solid 2019 season and it would make sense to bring him back in 2020 and maybe even expand his role, but it remains to be seen how high the Jaguars are on Cole.

Exclusive rights free agent

WR Terry Godwin

A seventh-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, Terry Godwin was waived and added to the Jaguars' practice squad after Week 1. Godwin was not active in any games in 2019.

OL Brandon Thomas

Sixth-year offensive lineman Brandon Thomas wasn't active in any games for Jacksonville in 2019, serving as a healthy scratch in most games before being placed on injured reserve with a knee injury on Dec. 11.

RB Devante Mays

Third-year running back Devante Mays was signed to the Jaguars at the end of July but was placed on injured reserve a month later, never laying a snap for the Jaguars.