Jacksonville Jaguars the most improved team after free agency
By Daniel Lago
In a repeat of last year’s successful offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars are once again the most improved team in the NFL after an active free agency period.
When the 2016 regular season ended and owner Shad Khan started making moves to shake up the front office and coaching staff, one theme that rose to the forefront was winning. Under head coach Gus Bradley, the Jaguars seemingly condoned losing and it led to disastrous results for 4 straight years.
With Tom Coughlin – a notoriously competitive disciplinarian – now at the helm of the entire operation, the Jaguars went into the offseason with an emphasis on getting better now.
To be fair to general manager David Caldwell, he did open the wallet last offseason for players like Malik Jackson and Tashaun Gipson, but this year the team was even more aggressive. The Jaguars have acquired at least three new starters on defense and one along the offensive line.
The Jaguars are undoubtedly a more talented team than they were two weeks ago, and John Clayton over at ESPN thinks they are easily the most improved team in the league with those additions.
"More from Jacksonville Jaguars NewsJacksonville Jaguars should welcome Derrick Henry into the kingdomJaguars Rumors: Trent Baalke seems to be getting respect nowJaguars News: This division rival might be making a big moveFormer Jacksonville Jaguars S Johnathan Cyprien: “New Profession, Same Standards”Jacksonville Jaguars TE Evan Engram officially gets the franchise tag: 3 takeaways1. Jacksonville JaguarsBiggest additions: DE Calais Campbell, CB A.J. Bouye, S Barry ChurchThe Jaguars went straight for their weakest unit, giving out $68 million in guarantees to defenders Campbell, Bouye and Church. This is after handing out $64 million in guarantees to defensive lineman Malik Jackson, running back Chris Ivory and safety Tashaun Gipson, and drafting cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Myles Jack and pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue last year. Jacksonville is well on its way to rebuilding its defense, which gave up 25.0 points per game in 2016. I expect that number to improve next season. Bouye and Ramsey make for a great, young cornerback tandem. Campbell turns 31 this year, but he’s a solid player. Church gives the defense some veteran leadership that has been needed."
The Jacksonville defense was certainly improved in 2016, but they still gave up too many points. Part of that was the unexpected ineptness of the offense, but the defense was still putrid at forcing turnovers and subsequently keeping the opposing team off the scoreboard.
As Clayton notes, it would be shocking if the Jaguars don’t lower their points-per-game average by a fair margin this year – and that’s without counting any significant additions they may make in the draft.
On paper (yes, that dreaded qualifier), the Jaguars are a better team and it should lead to more wins in 2017.