Jacksonville Jaguars have 2nd most talented roster in NFL says Gil Brandt

Despite the question mark at quarterback, it’s hard not to be impressed by the totality of the Jacksonville Jaguars roster, and Gil Brandt agrees.

As the dead zone of the NFL offseason approaches, it’s hard not to notice a relatively sizable contingent of the national media putting all their chips into the ‘Jaguars are going to regress in 2018’ pot. It’s not exactly a bold move considering the amount of groupthink behind it at this point and it’s almost entirely driven by the perception of the quarterback.

Focusing on Blake Bortles ignores the fact that Jacksonville Jaguars have arguably the most stacked roster in the entire league when you go down the list, position-by-position.

Gil Brandt recently put together his list of the top 10 most talented teams in the NFL and he made a somewhat shocking move with his ranking of the Jaguars:

"2. JAGUARS"

"One year after ranking sixth on offense and second on defense, the Jaguars remain loaded with blue-chip talent at every level — including cornerback Jalen Ramsey and defensive lineman Calais Campbell, both top-five players at their respective positions. The offensive line got a big upgrade when Jacksonville shelled out big bucks to sign guard Andrew Norwell, who will fit well on a unit that also includes Cam Robinson, a standout player drafted in the second round in 2017. Quarterback Blake Bortles remains the main question mark, but I think offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett’s skill at developing quarterbacks will be made apparent by Bortles’ continued improvement in 2018. With Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns both gone, Keelan Cole will have to come through at receiver, though I think Marqise Lee will keep trending in the right direction. And, of course, there’s Leonard Fournette and the top-ranked running game. Finally, the Jags’ first four draft picks this year — defensive tackle Taven Bryan, receiver D.J. Chark, safety Ronnie Harrison and offensive tackle Will Richardson — were strong and will further boost this squad."

Brandt is a dinosaur at this point but he still has credibility as a talent evaluator and analyst. He’s also generally unbiased in terms of teams and he tends to value raw skills and physical tools more than anything else.

Are the Jaguars really the second most talented team in the league? If the moves they made this offseason pan out then absolutely. They added maybe the best interior offensive lineman in the NFL in free agency, an enticing defensive line prospect in the draft, and they made the wide receiver group significantly more competitive after it suffered so much attrition both in the regular season and the offseason.

Even without Bortles taken into account, the Jaguars have a highly skilled group of players throughout the roster.

If Bortles can become a top 12 quarterback – something that quite frankly is a lot more within the realm of possibility than people are willing to believe – then this is undoubtedly the best roster in the NFL.