Jaguars Mailbag: Takes on Free Agency, Draft and More

Throughout the offseason, we will be taking questions on the biggest questions facing the Jacksonville Jaguars.

You can submit your questions every week by tweeting them to the Jaguars On SI Twitter handle or by submitting them here.

This week we take questions on free agency, the draft, and more.

Q: Are the Jaguars better today than they were at the end of season? It seems they’ve gotten worse at WR, TE, C, stayed the same at G and S, and gotten better at nickel back.

A: At the end of the season, Christian Kirk was injured. That had become a bit of a trend in Jacksonville, so I do think the receiver room today is better than it was for most of 2024, yes. I'd argue center is close to a wash, guard is an upgrade, and the tight end room is closer to being a wash than you think simply because there is no room for a big slot tight end type like Evan Engram.

In short, I think the roster is a bit better after FA than it was for most of the 2024 season, but I am also not of the opinion that the Jaguars will be as devasted by the loss of Engran and Kirk as some fans do.

Q: What do you think the plan is at receiver? It’s gotta be TMac or Graham after the first round of FA. Also, can Jones play outside?

A: I think the Jaguars will add one more receiver a top-100 draft pick, so the room will look like Brian Thomas Jr./Dyami Brown/Gabe Davis/Rookie/Parker Washington.

As for whether Jones can play outside, I think he has the physical traits to play outside in terms of speed and toughness and instincts, but most of his experience at the position is from before the 2023 college season. It is still a projection.

Q: Regardless of what round the player is drafted. If we can guarantee one of the draftees turns into a blue chip player. What position would it be that would benefit the Jaguars the most?

A: I will go with interior defensive line. The Jaguars have not had a difference-maker at defensive tackle for far, far too long. Finding one who can be a weekly game-wrecker would take Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker to new heights.

Q: Are you surprised that the Jags have not signed a 3rd pass rusher? How do you think they will address that spot going forward? Surely the plan can’t be the same as Baalke’s.

A: A little bit, but we could still see them take a pass-rusher with a top-100 pick. If they at least do that, then their strategy will at least look a boot bit different.

Q: How optimistic should we be that we might still see the best version of Arik Armstead? And if so, would there be enough snaps for him, DHam, Maason Smith, AND potentially Mason Graham? Can any of those guys rotate at EDGE where we seem to have very little depth?

A: I would not rotate any of them at edge, no. I do think you can easily find a way to rotate four defensive tackles though; we just saw the Philadelphia Eagles do it with ease. I think Armstead will have a better season this year, yes.

Q: What are the biggest needs in Jaguars roster after 1st wave of FA, and which round of the draft is the best option to fill it (without repetition)?

A: I would say cornerback, safety, defensive tackle, wide receiver, and edge rusher. I think you will see one of the Jaguars' four top-100 on these positions, with potentially safety being the one left out. I think round 1 makes sense for front seven help, second round for receiver help, and third round for any other big needs.

Q: The cap space we do not use this year will carry over to next year correct?

A: Correct.

Q: With Gladstone emphasizing he will draft "pro-ready prospects" as opposed to Baalke's developmental swings, who are some day 2 or 3 picks you like in the draft?

A: R.J. Harvey will be ready to make an impact right away, I think. I am also a fan of Deone Walker and Xavier Restrepo
.

Q: I'm kind of impressed by how swift and efficient that free agency process was, with a GM who has been here just a few weeks. The ink was barely dry on Morse's retirement papers and BOOM a center is signed. Am I wrong to think this is a sharp group of leaders who work well together?

A: I do think it is a smart group, but I also think this should help fans and the rest of the NFL realize why adding a general manager right before the combine was not really that big of a deal. They still had pro scouts going over everything.

Q: Do you think the free agency moves mean that the jags front office views the team as more of a rebuild than a retool? Feels like if they thought it was a true retool they would’ve spent to the top of the cap.

A: Honestly, I do not think they would have spent to the top of the cap if they felt like they were just a few players away. I think the Jaguars treated this like a free agency class that can help the depth of their roster because, at the end of the day, that is what the middling class really is.

Q: Will Travon Walker have more than 10.5 sacks this season?

A: I will go with 11.5.

Q: Is Gladstone against void years and wide-scale restructuring? Seems to be a stark difference in the contract structures from this years FA class compared to the few last years

A: I am not sure his philosphy, but his initial contracts with Jaguars seem to make it seem so. The Jaguars went heavy with void years in the past few seasons. It makes sense when you are contending every year like the Eagles. Much less sense for the Jaguars, though.

Q: Do you think the Jaguars will add a running back in the draft, and if so, on what day would you predict?

A: Yes, and I think between round 3 and round 4.

Q: If Baalke was still in charge which FA would of been the one he massively overpaid

A: Javon Kinlaw?

Q: Would you trade up from the second round for a WR in the mid 20s? Which player would be?

A: I would not. I do not think trading back up into the first round -- unless it is one of the final picks -- ever makes much sense from a value standpoint. This isn't a move I would do, I would just let a receiver fall to them in the second.

Q: Are we done in free agency?

A: In terms of moves for starters, I think so. Perhaps you see them add more depth pieces, but I think the big moves are done.

Q: Is there any world in which the Jags draft Armand Membou and he come is as RT and Anton gets pushed to LT?

A: Is there a world? Sure. There is always a chance of something happening. But I think Walker Little is the starting left tackle. As for right tackle, I think Anton Harrison is the starter there, but that is where I could see competition from a first-round tackle.

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