Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line ranked 18th so far according to Pro Football Focus

The Jacksonville Jaguars have completely revamped their offensive line over the last 2 years under general manager David Caldwell, with multiple draft picks and free agent acquisitions starting along all 5 positions. The unit had massive problems in 2014, allowing a comically high 71 sacks, 13 more than any other team allowed that season.

Caldwell went hard in trying to improve the offensive line this year, signing Jermey Parnell to a big deal to play right tackle, drafting A.J. Cann in the third round to compete with Zane Beadles at guard, and signing Stefan Wisniewski late in the free agency to compete along the interior of the line. Due to an unfortunate injury to Brandon Linder, all 3 are now starting.

Pro Football Focus is in the midst of their first quarter season review, and they recently released their offensive line rankings. The Jaguars are unsurprisingly in the middle of the pack:

"18. Jacksonville Jaguars (18th)Pass blocking rank: 28thRun blocking rank: T-4thPenalties rank: 4thStud: We wondered if Zane Beadles (-0.5) might be on the chopping block, but instead, he’s delivered a solid start to the year.Dud: There’s been improvement from Luke Joeckel (-3.1), but not to the level that makes you confident he’ll ever live up to his draft slot.Summary: Nothing overly worrisome here, but nothing that stands out. As the ranking would suggest, a very average collection that needs to do a better job in pass protection."

These are borderline baffling for people who have watched the games. Run blocking has been an issue all season as T.J. Yeldon has had to consistently avoid defenders in the backfield. The best aspect of the offensive line has arguably been their ability to protect Blake Bortles (8 sacks so far). These rankings are flipped here and it frankly doesn’t make much sense.

The other surprise here is Zane Beadles being labeled the “stud” along the offensive line. Beadles has quite clearly been the weak link on that line and probably would have been benched sometime soon for A.J. Cann. Linder’s injury has seemingly bought Beadles a few more weeks before the staff looks at Tyler Shatley, but he has been underwhelming so far in 2015.

While I disagree with the analysis, I agree overall with the ranking. The Jaguars have an average offensive line, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this unit gels and becomes better by the end of the season.

Next: Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns on pace for 1000 yards

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