PFF: Jaguars’ Offensive Line Amongst the Worst in NFL in 2019
Heading into the 2020 offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars have a few clear areas they will need to pour resources in to improve from the 6-10 season they just had. One of the most pressing of such areas will be rebuilding an offensive line that played below expectations.
Unlike some teams with poor offensive lines, the Jaguars can not blame the performance on lack of investment in the group. Jacksonville's starting center and right guard are each on their second contracts with the team, the left guard is amongst the highest-paid players at his position in the NFL, and each of the offensive tackles were recent second-round draft picks.
But despite making the offensive line a priority in the construction of the team, it still ran into issues in 2019. According to Pro Football Focus, the Jaguars' front five turned in the 26th best season of all offensive lines.
A big reason for this ranking, PFF said, was the performance of third-year left tackle Cam Robinson. Robinson suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the second week of 2018 and had to battle through recovering from the injury this season, but he ultimately had a shaky year according to PFF.
"After returning from an injury-shortened second season, left tackle Cam Robinson showed more of the form that we saw from him as a rookie when he posted one of the worst pressure rates allowed in the NFL (9.0%)," PFF said. "This season, Robinson allowed 45 pressures at left tackle in 552 pass-blocking snaps for a slightly improved — yet, still concerning — rate of 8.2%."
But Robinson is not the sole factor for the entire unit's sole ranking, PFF explained. Aside from center Brandon Linder, they were not impressed with any of Jacksonville's starting linemen. Considering the inconsistency of Andrew Norwell and A.J. Cann and Jawaan Taylor's penalty issues, this isn't too surprising.
"As this ranking would suggest, Robinson wasn’t the only player along the line who struggled. Outside of Brandon Linder, there wasn’t a whole lot to get excited about for Jacksonville up front," PFF said.
