Jermey Parnell to Jaguars, Signing Grade and How He Helps
By Luke Sims
Jermey Parnell is coming to the Jacksonville Jaguars to fill the massive void at right tackle and at this point that’s the best news out of 2015 NFL Free Agency for the Jags. The Jaguars struggled to find consistency on their offensive line last season and had a rotating door of offensive tackles on the right side for a significant portion of the season.
Parnell should be able to lock all of that down.
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Coming to Jacksonville for a
reported $32 million over five years
, Parnell is expected to take his limited starting experience (seven games) and immediately make the leap from role player to full time starter.
Can he do it?
That’s the big question that will be hanging over Parnell throughout the offseason. He isn’t exactly a proven commodity like Bryan Bulaga would have been and he may prove to be unready to start for a full 16 game season. He has appeared in all 16 games over the last three seasons and has started at least one game in each of those, but becoming a full time starter and knowing you have to be the guy locking down the right side all year round will be a tougher task.
Parnell does have the skills, though. During his five games starting in 2014, he made sure the Dallas Cowboys didn’t miss a beat, providing consistent work at right tackle and ensuring Tony Romo had time to throw and DeMarco Murray could find holes to get through. He was Pro Football Focus’s seventh ranked right tackle overall (coming in just above the guy he replaced, Doug Free) and their fifth ranked run blocker. That’s a solid outing for a player who was called up due to injury. This isn’t to say he is a slouch in pass protection, either. The guys at PFF gave him a positive grade there, not allowing a sack all season.
Overall, I give this signing a B-. I think Jermey Parnell could really lock down the right tackle position for the first time in a long time, he just has to prove himself. It’s a bit of a gamble.
This signing will be made official on Tuesday.