Black and Teal
FanSided

Jacksonville Jaguars’ Biggest Need Remains Pass Rusher

By Daniel Lago

facebooktwitterreddit

Heading into the 2015 offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a plethora of needs – offensive line, linebacker, safety, running back, tight end… it goes on and on.

More from Jacksonville Jaguars News

Heading into free agency last week, general manager

David Caldwell

had the most cap space to work with in the NFL and he made use of it by signing a handful of premium free agents. He addressed tight end (

Julius Thomas

), defensive line (

Jared Odrick

), linebacker (

Dan Skuta

), right tackle (

Jermey Parnell

), cornerback (

Davon House

), and safety (

Sergio Brown

). All of the acquired players are starters or at least have a chance to start, meaning Caldwell did a terrific job of plugging holes with young, ascending veterans.

Still, the Jaguars have needs heading into the draft. I personally believe the Jaguars need to target a pass rusher with the third overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and two national writers agree. Chris Wesseling over and at NFL.com and Pete Prisco at CBS Sports both identified pass/edge rusher as the Jaguars’ biggest need post-free agency. Here’s what the analysts had to say:

"9. Jaguars pass rusher: The Jags did well to add Jared Odrick as a versatile defensive lineman, but that won’t fix one of the weakest pass rushers in the league. An edge rusher should be targeted with the No. 3 overall pick. The Falcons still need help in this area after signing three pass rushers who have averaged 2.97 sacks per season in their NFL careers.– Chris Wesseling Biggest Problem Area: Edge rusherWhen you look at what they’re doing on defense, the one thing that stands out is a lack of a sack-fumble-game-over pass rusher. Chris Clemons isn’t a kid anymore, so they need to get a young, elite pass rusher. That’s where I think they go with the third overall pick.– Pete Prisco"

Chris Clemons is getting up there in age, and he was pretty inconsistent last year. Andre Branch isn’t really a building block moving forward, and Ryan Davis excels as an interior pass rusher. It makes sense for the Jaguars to target one of the strongest position groups in the draft at the top of the first round. Right now, I wouldn’t be shocked if the Jaguars chose any of the guys among Dante Fowler Jr., Randy Gregory, or Vic Beasley.

Next: Dante Fowler a lock for the Jags?

More from Black and Teal

Home/Jacksonville Jaguars News