What Are the Jaguars’ 5 Greatest Needs This Offseason?
As the Jacksonville Jaguars enter the 2020 offseason, it is clear the team needs widespread improvements. How the Jaguars decide to tackle addressing those improvements is what will likely make or break the pivotal upcoming season.
Whether those improvements come on the offensive or defensive side of the ball is a bit of a moot point as of now considering just how many holes on the roster Jacksonville currently has. What was once a stacked roster a few seasons ago was exposed in 2019 as the Jaguars struggled on both sides of the ball, both due to poor depth and underperforming starters.
So as the Jaguars enter the 2020 offseason and look forward to the free agency or NFL Draft, which positions should be highest on their priority list? We identified a few.
Defensive Tackle
The Jaguars have tried to invest in defensive tackles in spurts in recent seasons -- trading for Marcell Dareus in 2017 and drafting Taven Bryan in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Despite that, the Jaguars' interior defense was amongst the worst in the entire NFL in 2019. Dareus was a solid run-stuffer when healthy but he ultimately played only six games due to a core muscle injury ending his season. Once he went down, the Jaguars' run defense allowed several teams to rush for 200 yards or more against them, including the Indianapolis Colts having two different plays rush for 100 yards against them in Week 11.
Bryan was better in 2019 than he was as a rookie, but he ultimately didn't impact many games. He recorded just two sacks and five tackles for loss in 2019 despite starting eight games. Even with that, Bryan led all Jaguars' defensive tackles in sacks (though Calais Campbell and Dawuane Smoot recorded sacks when lining up inside). Jacksonville had to rely on players off of the street like Akeem Spence and Carl Davis to take snaps at defensive tackle down the stretch of the season, and the team's struggles reflected the need to depend on players who were not on any teams beforehand. Whether it is a penetrating three-technique or a nose tackle to replace Dareus, the Jaguars have to upgrade the spine of their defense in a big way.
Linebacker
Following the 2018 season, Jacksonville had two linebackers who just had inconsistent seasons but were supremely talented in Telvin Smith and Myles Jack. Of course, Smith would go on to step away from football in May, and the Jaguars were forced to make moves to compensate for his loss, both in the short and long-term. Jacksonville drafted weakside linebacker Quincy Williams in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft and handed Jack a four-year, $57 million contract extension which includes $33 million in guaranteed money before the season started.
Neither of these moves paid off in 2019 though, and eventually, the law of attrition hit the Jaguars fast and hard. Williams started eight games before a hand injury in Week 14 ended his season, but his starts were marred by the inconsistencies that should have always been expected from someone who was playing linebacker for the first time. Jack's struggles, however, were much less expected and excusable. Jack started 11 games before a Week 12 knee injury sidelined him for the season, but he rarely an impact player for the defense when healthy, and he instead looked more like the 2018 player who struggled to transition to middle linebacker.
Along with the issues Jacksonville had with its starters, its linebacker depth wasn't much better. Najee Goode was mostly a replacement-level player in his handful of starts, while Austin Calitro looked like a special teams-only player. Donald Payne and Leon Jacobs impressed in smaller sample sizes, but neither did enough to make a case for the Jaguars to not make finding more linebackers a priority.
Offensive Line
Jacksonville has invested heavily in each of its offensive line spots in the last several seasons, but the results have yet matched the investment. Left tackle Cam Robinson, a second-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, has dealt with injuries and inconsistent play. Left guard Andrew Norwell, who the Jaguars made one of the highest-paid guards in the NFL in 2018, has yet to live up to his lofty contract. Center Brandon Linder, another lineman the Jaguars have handed a big contract to in recent years, has been solid but unspectacular.
Right guard A.J. Cann was given a new contract after the 2018 season but had to fight off second-year lineman Will Richardson for all of 2019. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor was a second-round pick the Jaguars traded up for in 2019 and had a great rookie season, though he was hampered by penalties to a degree.
Jacksonville's line was up and down throughout all of last season, with the pass blocking often falling apart when Nick Foles, an immobile quarterback, was behind center. Gardner Minshew II had to add an element of mobility to his game just to survive his 12 starts. And as a run-blocking unit, the Jaguars scored only three touchdowns and consistently failed to punch it in in goal-to-goal situations, something that is a direct indictment on the offensive line. Jacksonville will need to upgrade the unit in at least some fashion to hope to have better offensive production in 2020.
Tight End
Consider this: James O'Shaughnessy led all Jaguars' tight ends in catches, yards, and touchdowns in 2019, and he didn't even play in five full games. From Geoff Swaim to Seth DeValve to Josh Oliver to Ben Koyack to Nick O'Leary, the Jaguars failed to get production from the tight end position for the entirety of 2019, and especially so when O'Shaughnessy suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 5.
Oliver, a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, played in only four games due to hamstring and back injuries and caught just three passes for 15 yards. DeValve played in 12 games but failed to make an impact, catching just 12 passes for 140 yards. Aside from O'Shaughnessy, no Jaguars' tight end caught more than 13 passes, recorded 150 yards, or caught two touchdowns. The only tight end to catch a touchdown aside from O'Shaughnessy was O'Leary, who caught one.
This would be higher up on the list of needs if the other positions didn't play an even larger role in the Jaguars' inability to win games in 2019. But make no mistake about it, the Jaguars desperately need to improve the position.
Cornerback
If you said before the 2019 season began that the Jaguars would need to upgrade the cornerback position in 2020, scoffs would've likely followed. But after the dramatic departure of All-Pro corner Jalen Ramsey from Jacksonville, the team lost its top playmaker in the secondary and the face of the franchise.
A.J. Bouye had a decent season but failed to make many game-changing plays, recording one interception in 14 games. Second-year cornerback Tre Herndon played admirably in Ramsey's spot, recording three interceptions and improving each week, but there was still room for the Jaguars to improve. D.J. Hayden was one of the defense's best players in 2019 but fought through injuries all season. After those three, the Jaguars' depth struggled mightily.
Jacksonville can get by in 2020 without making a huge investment in cornerback, but eventually the team needs to inject the position with talent once again.
