Jacksonville Jaguars: Turn Luke Joeckel to trade bait?
By Luke Sims
The Jacksonville Jaguars are re-tooling across the board for 2016, hoping to make a push for the playoffs after four years of rebuilding under general manager Dave Caldwell. Is it time to trade the first selection of Caldwell’s tenure?
Kelvin Beachum’s arrival to the Jacksonville Jaguars has opened up options at left tackle. For the first time since taking over in 2013, general manager Dave Caldwell has a proven left tackle, who is expected to battle Luke Joeckel for the starting job.
Joeckel, to his credit, has not been a poor left tackle. In fact, it’s his mediocrity that may be most damning. Selected second overall in 2013 and the first selection by Caldwell, Joeckel struggled with injury his first season, only appearing in five games. He struggled to return to weight and played catch up in year two before finally reaching the mediocre level we saw him play at through 2015.
Beating out Beachum will be difficult. Beachum is a multi-year starter who brings a meaner presence at the position, which is needed. He seems to have an edge that Joeckel lacks.
If Beachum does beat out Joeckel, what will the Jaguars do with the young, yet underperforming player?
While it is tempting to leave him as depth, especially considering the Jaguars’ struggles with injury along the offensive line in recent years, it may be more tempting to put Joeckel up as trade bait. He could help give the Jaguars another pick to continue building a competitor with after 2016, ensuring that the wheels keep turning.
Of course, if the Jaguars fail to have a winning record in 2016, Caldwell could be gone and a new front office in place to get the Jaguars over the hump.
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While this is looking far out, Joeckel’s position with the Jacksonville Jaguars is tenuous. There will be questions surrounding his role and his value to the team in the coming months. If he does get beat out by Beachum before the 2016 season, it will be interesting to see if the Jaguars choose to keep him on the roster.