The State of the Jaguars Offensive Line Room
Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone remembers playing under George Warhop. Marrone was an offensive lineman with NFL Europe’s London Monarch’s and his position coach was Warhop.
It was the final stop for Marrone’s playing career and Warhop’s first foray into coaching on the professional level. But those two years taught Marrone about the man he’d one day coach with and what a second year under him means. Warhop was hired as the Jaguars offensive line coach in January of 2019.
“I really think that this group could take a big jump,” Marrone told reporters in mid-April.
“It’s their first year with Coach Warhop. I have a ton of respect for him as a football coach. Obviously he's someone that coached me. I know what he wants, I know how he teaches. I think those players have a better understanding [of] what they want, what's expected of them and I think you're going to see that ‘jump.’ When you're going through different coaches it's hard to make a jump cause you're just looking to please or do everything that coach wants you the first year.”
The offense as a group finished 17th in the NFL in rushing with 1,708 yards – 106.8 yards per game. Behind the unit, the Jags had only three rushing touchdowns, fewest in the league, but held Gardner Minshew II up for 21 touchdowns and dropped their sack numbers from 53 in 2018 to 42 in 2019 (15th in NFL). There were 33 times first downs up the center, 14 to the right side of the line and 37 to the left.
The second-year under Warhop will bring a lot of seconds for the entire group. This is a unit assembled for the 2019 season and which largely played together for the full schedule.
Left tackle Cam Robinson missed the first two games while still recovering from injury, but upon his return, the starting five looked the same for the rest of the year. With no major changes to the unit thus far in the offseason—the Jags took one O-lineman, in the fourth round, No. 116 overall with Ben Bartch—that group of five is likely to stay the same in the coming season. Marrone has spoken favorably of them several times this offseason as well. So this will be their second year not only under Warhop, but together as a whole.
Related: The State of the Jaguars Offensive Line Ahead of the 2020 Draft
This will also be the second year for Cam Robinson after returning from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury suffered in 2018. No matter the rehab progression, extra time is always the best medicinal salve. His second year out of rehab means he should get the initial nod to see how he’s playing now. But heading into his fourth year, the former second-round pick must prove his worth. Solid run blocking married with questionable pass-blocking begs the question could he be moved inside more. There are options outside if that does happen, albeit none that have started as many games as Robinson.
The first option is Will Richardson. Entering his third year, Richardson has two starts to his name, courtesy of when he filled in for Robinson at the beginning of the 2019 season while the latter was still testing the ACL recovery. Richardson was also a rotational player with A.J. Cann at right guard, flashing a versatility that has led Marrone to say they would find a place for Richardson.
The second option is the Smoothie King, Ben Bartch. The fourth-rounder shined at the Senior Bowl and impressed at the NFL Combine, leading to his labeling as a steal for the Jags. The offensive tackle has only been playing the position for two years though and will be jumping from Division III to the NFL. The learning curve will be steep and probably painful meaning Bartch playing behind an incumbent veteran would allow him more time to become adjusted to the speed of the pros, and Batch has also been mentioned by the Jaguars as a potential interior lineman.
Moving Robinson inside though would shake up the veteran interior presence in Andrew Norwell (left guard), Cann (right guard) and Brandon Linder (center). The trio has 226 career starts between them.
Said Marrone in April, “I think Linder probably, Brandon had one of his best years last year even though we had a poor season. I think you look at him, he was one of the top centers in the league.”
One of the surest bets will be right tackle Jawaan Taylor. As a rookie, he played every offensive snap of the season. Entering his second year in the league and his second year with the same position coach should see Taylor make the biggest jump of anyone in the unit. If he can cut down on penalties, he has the tools and ceiling to become a Pro-Bowler.
The Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line might not look much different personnel-wise in 2020. But if Doug Marrone’s memory serves him correctly, it will look different overall as they collectively take a step forward in “year two.”
