Jacksonville Jaguars – Playing Amateur GM (QB & RB)
With one game left and no playoff opportunities, all Jags fans have to look forward to is next year. If this year is any indication, the Jags are heading in the right direction (and believe me, I didn’t feel this way in the first half of the season). Most of it has to do with the inspired coaching of Gus Bradley. A lot more needs to be attributed to GM David Caldwell. He had an excellent draft and was pretty spot on with free agents. I look forward to see what he does next.
Now I have been an active fantasy football enthusiast…for over 20 years…So I’m OBVIOUSLY qualified to give my opinions on the state of the Jags at each position*. Where we are strong and where we need help. Please let me know if you agree…
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
* = I hope my sarcasm is noted!!!
In this article…I will grade out the positions of the quarterback and running back.
Quarterback – Complete no-brainer…The most obvious weakness on the team. Blaine Gabbert can’t leave soon enough. I can’t imagine Ricky Stanzi being brought back. He might though because he falls under the Jags player criteria of four years or less in the league and at an affordable salary. I have previously stated I believe Chad Henne has at least earned an invite next year to backup and potentially mentor our new starter. It is out of the Jaguars’ hands though because Henne will be an unrestricted free agent. If the Jags want him, they better hope no one else does. POSITION GRADE…D-
Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
Running Back – Hard to grade. If Maurice Jones-Drew comes back at a reasonable cost, this could be a position of strength and consistency. I hope MJD does comes back.He has been showing signs of finally returning to his pre-foot injury condition, aside from the recent hamstring issues. I’m excited about Jordan Todman’s potential. Don’t forget in a start caused by an MJD injury, Todman had over 150 combined yards against a respected Buffalo Bills defense. An off-season will do nothing but good to help Denard Robinson grow as an NFL RB. I look forward to next year’s training camp to see how he progresses. I like the under the radar signing of former Indianapolis Colt running back Delone Carter. Let’s see what he has to offer next year. Justin Forsett never got it going and I see no reason to bring him back. We are set at fullback with Will Ta’ufo’ou. The beauty is that even if Jones-Drew leaves, we have a core basis of players that all fall in the four years or less criteria. None make more than $600k a year. That’s potential at a reasonable price. POSITION GRADE…B+ (WITH MOJO)/ C (WITHOUT)
OK. I’ll be back in a couple of days with my grading of the WR’s and TE’s.
Your teacher today was Michael McDonald.
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