Winners and Losers of Jaguars' 2024 Offseason

The Jacksonville Jaguars are days away from the first organized team activity of the 2024 season, which signals a true end to the offseason. The Jaguars are now locked in on the upcoming season, as are their 31 peers.

So with the offseason now wrapped up, we figured it is time to take stock and see which Jaguars benefitted the most from this offseason, and which could potentially see roster spots taken as a result.

Winners

Ryan Nielsen: Talk about a makeover. The Jaguars have made major investments in the defense since hiring Ryan Nielsen, while also shedding some contracts of players who were never going to make an impact with Nielsen. The signings of Ronald Darby, Darnell Savage, and especially Arik Armstead have the potential to help Nielsen and his staff hit the ground running. Add in defensive picks like second-rounder Maason Smith, third-rounder Jarrian Jones, and fourth-rounder Jordan Jefferson and the Jaguars have given Nielsen plenty of ammo to work with and even more room to grow.

Josh Allen and Travon Walker: The Jaguars simultaneously had one of the best pass-rush duos in the NFL and one of the worst pass-rush depth charts at the same time a year ago. The Jaguars haven't made major changes along their edge depth chart since then, but the starting duo of Josh Allen and Travon Walker should be even better in 2024 than they were during their 27.5-sack campaign last year. The biggest reason? Arik Armstead, who can provide the interior pass-rush that they lacked a year ago.

Tank Bigsby: 2023 third-rounder Tank Bigsby didn't make a huge impact as a rookie, but it sure seems like he will get the chance to atone for that in 2024. The Jaguars drafted a running back in fifth-round pick Keilan Robinson, but he will play more special teams than offense. Otherwise, the only move the Jaguars made at running back was re-signing backup running back D'Ernest Johnson. With no real competition added for Bigsby and with Doug Pederson openly saying he wants Etienne's touches to go down, it seems like Bigsby is in store for a sizeable role this season.

Trevor Lawrence: Losing Calvin Ridley was tough; Ridley and Trevor Lawrence had a good relationship and most thought their connection would be even better in 2024. Luckily for Lawrence, the Jaguars used their most valuable offseason asset to draft a Ridley replacement in Brian Thomas Jr. The Jaguars also added proven playmaker Gabriel Davis, giving the Jaguars an upgrade over former starting receiver Zay Jones. Add in an upgrade at center and no obvious downgrades along the rest of the offensive line, and Lawrence made out well this offseason. A potential extension before the season wouldn't hurt this, either.

Ezra Cleveland and Brandon Scherff: The Jaguars re-signed Ezra Cleveland before free agency began and also reconstructed Brandon Scherff's deal to ensure he would return in 2024. By most standards, this would lock them into starting roles. Still, there was buzz throughout the offseason that the Jaguars could use an early pick on an offensive lineman. They didn't do that until the fourth round, though, and they drafted a tackle and not a guard. Cleveland and Scherff will start Week 1.

Heath Farwell: The Jaguars made several moves this offseason that should make special teams coordinator Heath Farwell happy. From signing a Pro Bowl returner in Devin Duvernay to adding other players with special teams value like Jarrian Jones, Deantre Prince, Keilan Robinson, and Cam Little. It was a good offseason for Farwell.

Losers

C.J. Beathard: The biggest loser has to be long-time backup quarterback C.J. Beathard, to no fault of his own. The Jaguars traded away a sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for a one-year rental of former first-round pick Mac Jones. It would be in the best interest of both parties for Jones to be the No. 2 pick this year, which means a bump down the depth chart for C.J. Beathard.

Veteran receivers: The Jaguars saw three receivers leave their roster this offseason in Calvin Ridley, Zay Jones, and Jamal Agnew. Despite that, there was no obvious moving up the depth chart for Tim Jones, Elijah Cooks, or Parker Washington because the Jaguars added three other receivers in Brian Thomas Jr., Gabe Davis, and Devin Duvernay. The trio of holdovers from last year's depth chart will enter OTAs the same way they left the regular season, and now they have competition from undrafted free agents Joshua Cephus and David White.

Veteran kickers: One veteran kicker has already lost his spot on the roster as a result of the Jaguars' drafting of kicker Cam Little. Former 2022 playoff hero Riley Patterson will enter the offseason program and training camp alongside Little, but it would likely take a catastrophic training camp from the rookie kicker to jump him on the depth chart.