Offseason Outlook: The Jaguars Top 5 Needs/Wants
Offseason Outlook: The Jaguars Top 5 Needs/Wants
The Jaguars were one of the best upcoming teams after the 2017 season, but unfortunately, it all went down head after that. The quarterback play has been up and down. Leonard Fournette has been up and down in his performances and hasn’t looked the same as his rookie year since then. The defense is still solid but not as dominant as it once was. It has lost and missed key pieces that were so good for the team. Now with another Top 10 selection this upcoming draft and some key roles that need to be figured out before the season, the Jaguars can either make or break themselves for the foreseeable future.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Wants
Linebacker
Tight end
Offensive line
Cornerback
Wide receiver
Needs
Figure out who is going to the starting quarterback
Figure out the starting three cornerbacks
Figure out what will be done with Tevin Smith
Find a starting tight end
Find a replacement for Marcell Dareus
Tight End
The last few seasons have seen the Jaguars try to find a complete tight end with great receiving ability. They had an aging Marcedes Lewis for a while, they tried Julius Thomas, and of recent Geoff Swaim and Seth Devalve. None has been able to do the full job and because of that, they had little to no real production from that group. Due to that fact, the Jaguars have been in need of help for that position for a while now. Luckily, they have a few options that can come in and produce the way they need this offseason. In free agency, they can go after guys like Austin Hooper or Hunter Henry and get the type of receiving threat they have sorely been missing. If they want to try and get a young guy in the draft that can help as well, they can go after a legend’s son in the 3rd or 4th round. Thaddeus Moss is a solid option who has shown to be able to get open and make plays in the passing game at LSU. Either one of these options can be great for the Jaguars in improving their offense and helping their quarterback get a security blanket.
Linebacker
Last season there were many questions going into the season about what the linebacker situation will look like. This offseason they have some answers but not enough. They know Myles Jack is their middle linebacker of the future but only played 11 games after showing great durability in his first four seasons. He also slipped a bit in overall production but as a whole, the linebackers left something to be desired. He should be back by the beginning of next year to man the mike spot for the foreseeable future.
On the outside though, there are a few questions. Najee Goode was up and down this season and ended the year on IR. He is now a free agent. Quincy Williams, a 2019 3rd round selection, showed promise in the preseason and training camp, but faltered during the season. He showed more need to develop as a complete linebacker. He finished with middling stats and was twice benched for veterans. He then ended the season on IR. Jake Ryan ended the season on IR as well which was a theme for the Jaguars this season. Then you have the solid and needed hole left by Telvin Smith this past season for the linebacker when he decided to take a year off for personal reasons. The Jaguars need to figure out what is going on with Telvin and then find another outside linebacker that can step in immediately and produce. This will help in two ways. They can have insurance if Telvin is done playing completely and if he isn’t, then they will have a solid trio like back when they were a top 3 defense in 2017. They can target a veteran like Danny Trevathan who can play mike and have Jack and Smith/Williams on the outside. Then again if they don’t want Jack to move, they can draft a guy like Kenneth Murray or Patrick Queen. Murray is better suited for outside or MIKE LB in 3-4, while Queen is a mike who can develop into a solid strongside linebacker.
Figure out who will be the quarterback next season and for the foreseeable future
This is the most important question that needs to be answered this offseason. The Jaguars last offseason, thought they addressed this situation by signing Nick Foles to a big-money contract for four years and 88 million dollars. Then in the sixth round, they thought they were getting a good to solid backup in rookie Gardner Minshew. Unfortunately, things didn’t pan out the way they would have hoped and now there should be an open competition for the starting job. Foles did well for a drive and even delivered a beautiful touchdown pass to open the year, then got hurt and fractured his collarbone. Minshew then came in and proceed to go 22-25 his first outing. Then the next 9 games he led the charge and delivered the Jaguars to a 4-4 record which he threw a 13-2 touchdown to interception ratio. Then right before Foles would return he bombed and loss the starting spot to Foles. Yet Foles only managed to hold onto the job for about three weeks before they turned the show back over to the rookie who had shown more ability to win with the team.
Minshew then finished the season with over 3,000 yards passing, 21 TDs and only six interceptions. Now, the Jaguars have a dilemma, do they start the big money quarterback that was guaranteed 50 million, or do they start the very promising rookie after he led a mania and brought life to the Jaguars offense? If they start Foles and he can stay healthy, they could have a good quarterback and a backup that will be able to play at any time and show no real drop off in production. On the other hand, if Foles shows to be just a good backup and they start Minshew, how can they justify having that much money dedicated to a backup quarterback? So many questions, and not enough answers.
-By: Darren Braxton
Writer/Interviewer