Jacksonville Jaguars get ‘B+’ in free agency from Pro Football Focus

The Jacksonville Jaguars came into the offseason after a rough finish to the 2015 season with one goal in mind – add as much talent as possible to improve an abysmal defense. Fortunately, general manager David Caldwell went into free agency with the most salary cap room in the entire NFL after avoiding high priced veterans in his first three years with the team.

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With that in mind, fans had lofty expectations for the free agency period and it’s hard not to be somewhat happy with the results. Despite swinging and missing, quite spectacularly, on defensive end

, the Jaguars added 3 surefire starters to the defense with fairly high upsides.

,

, and

are all quality starters and have the potential to be Pro Bowl players. Add in a solid running back in

and competition for

in

and it’s plain to see the Jaguars are a better team on paper.

Pro Football Focus agrees, as they gave the Jaguars the highest free agency grade of any AFC South team.

"Grade: B+Key additions: DT Malik Jackson, RB Chris Ivory, CB Prince Amukamara, S Tashaun Gipson, OT Kelvin BeachumKey losses: None (C Stefan Wisniewski remains an unrestricted free agent)The Jaguars came into free agency looking to make a splash, and they have done just that. Jackson was the biggest signing, coming off a season where he racked up seven sacks, 12 hits, and 56 hurries (including the playoffs). Jackson has seen his pass-rush grade improve every season since entering the league in 2012, and gives the Jaguars the ability to generate interior pressure in 2016. Elsewhere on defense, they added cornerback Prince Amukamara and safety Tashaun Gipson. At 78.9, Amukamara was our 32nd-highest-graded cornerback. That might not seem like much, but it still makes him the highest-graded CB on the Jaguars’ roster at the moment. Gipson struggled in 2015, but was our 15th-highest-graded safety in 2014.On offense, Kelvin Beachum would be an immediate upgrade over Luke Joeckel and, while injuries limited his 2015 season, the former Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle was our second-highest graded OT in pass protection in 2014. Chris Ivory (81.2) was another player who they potentially overpaid for, but they had the money available, and get to pair him with T.J. Yeldon (83.2), giving Jacksonville two of the 11 highest-graded running backs from the 2015 season."

PFF isn’t as high on Gipson or Amukamara as some might be, but it’s clear they also think the Jaguars improved their roster. I tend to think Gipson will play a lot more like he did in 2014 than 2015, as the Jaguars defense should be better in 2016 than the Browns were last season. Amukamara is also high-risk/high-reward signing since he’s been held back almost exclusively by injuries. If healthy, Amukamara gives the Jaguars a formidable duo of outside corners with Davon House returning.

They didn’t get the pass rusher they need, but the Jaguars certainly made a concerted effort to sign good players and they did just that over the past few weeks.