Jaguars Should Target a Right Tackle in Free Agency
By Daniel Lago
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The Jacksonville Jaguars are entering the 3rd year of their rebuild under general manager
David Caldwelland head coach Gus Bradley. While there have been some promising performances from young players throughout the roster, there haven’t been many actual wins to show for it.
Caldwell has done a good job of building through the draft, but it’s now time to fill the roster with veterans to mix with the burgeoning youth. Nowhere is that more evident than on the offensive side of the ball, where the Jaguars regularly started 5 rookies and sometimes even 8 rookies.
Five -- Bortles, Robinson, Johnson, Linder, Bowanko ... RT @danogator1: @Jaguars @JohnOehser How many rookies starting on offense today?
— John Oehser (@JohnOehser) October 12, 2014
The Jaguars clearly need some more veterans, effective ones at that, on the offensive side of the ball. One of the positions that would benefit from an upgrade is right tackle, where Austin Pasztor has been OK when healthy, but he certainly isn’t above replacement.
The question now is how much to the Jaguars spend if they do go after a right tackle? Green Bay Packers tackle Bryan Bulaga appears to be the top free agent along the offensive line, which means he’ll likely command a pretty sizeable contract. Luckily, the Jaguars have the most cap space to work with in the NFL.
NFL teams w/ most cap space (as of last week):
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) February 17, 2015
1. JAX $61.7M
2. OAK $51.5M
3. CLE $49.8M
4. NYJ $48.6M
5. TEN $44.0M
So the Jaguars have both the need and the ability to sign a big time free agent at the offensive tackle position… should they do it? I think so, and I think there are other targets if the Jaguars miss out on Bryan Bulaga. The Dallas Cowboys have a lot currently invested in the offensive line, and one of their best lineman in right tackle Jermey Parnell is a free agent. Parnell finished 20th among all tackles according to Pro Football Focus, and he’s still in his prime at only 28 years old. If not Parnell, the Jaguars could opt for a veteran stopgap in Doug Free or Derek Newton.
Regardless of who they actually end up signing, the Jaguars will undoubtedly spend in free agency to bring some offensive veterans to Jacksonville. We’ll know soon enough who their top targets are.