Are The Jaguars Rebuilding Or Planning To Tank In 2017?
By Larry Brake
The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently in win-now mode. Lately, some of their moves have fans wondering if they are rebuilding or tanking.
Jacksonville Jaguars fans were given hope last year that Shad Khan, team owner, felt their pain. Tom Coughlin returned to the front office to guide the rebuilding process. Lately, it appears that the Jaguars are tanking in order to rebuild.
How prevalent is tanking in the NFL? According to Kevin Clark of TheRinger.com:
"In 2017, tanking in the NFL is very real. Even if players are still trying their best on every play, front offices have worked around it by making sure those players aren’t good enough to win games — no matter how much effort they’re giving."
Enter the quarterback competition this summer between Blake Bortles and Chad Henne. Henne had better numbers but Bortles is the starting quarterback in Houston. Brandon Allen has been released.
The roster, this summer, seemed to be constantly changing. The offensive line is currently being re-stocked. Luke Bowanko was traded for an undisclosed draft pick.
The question remains as to whether the Jaguars are tanking or trying to get better. Jacksonville signed three good free agents and had a good draft. They ignored the quarterback position in both areas.
The Jaguars front office and analytics departments probably decided that the 2018 draft had better quarterback prospects. The current free agent quarterbacks were uninspiring. Coughlin stated that there was no interest in Colin Kaepernick.
The 2018 draft class of quarterbacks looks to be better than 2017’s. First of all, drafting a quarterback is not an exact science. However, landing a franchise quarterback in the draft is cheaper than going the free agent route.
Jacksonville must decide whether to sign a top free agent quarterback or draft a top quarterback prospect. So, are the Jaguars going to win or tank for Sam?