Jacksonville Jaguars: K’Lavon Chaisson is the best addition this offseason

Can the selection of K’Lavon Chaisson by the Jacksonville Jaguars change the entire defensive outlook for the 2020 season?

Looking at the Jacksonville Jaguars roster, an argument can be made this team is better on paper in 2020 based on more speed and athleticism on both sides of the football.

But the puzzle won’t fit correctly unless head coach Doug Marrone and his staff get maximum effort from everyone – including rookies and free-agent veterans the team brought in this offseason.

The front office is banking on the changes made for 2020 stack up to a successful journey many in the football community cannot see because of a lack of continuity from 2019. Much of the drama that affected this team, with players being traded or released and management redefining itself, is gone. The excuses have been eliminated. All that is left is proving the product on the field is that much better.

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Russell Baxter of FanSided.com recently wrote a piece entitled, “Best offseason addition for each NFL team.” For the Jaguars, it was the addition of K’Lavon Chaisson, the rookie out of LSU who is going to be asked to play multiple positions, including helping to improve the team’s pass rush this fall.

"“Doug Marrone’s big-play defense from 2017 just hasn’t recaptured that form. A year ago, the Jaguars used a first-round draft choice on defensive end Josh Allen and he responded with a Pro Bowl year. But the club needs more playmakers at linebacker and 2020 first-rounder K’Lavon Chaisson (LSU) should bolster the club’s front seven,” Baxter writes."

The fact Chaisson, who was the team’s second first-round pick this past April, is getting this much love early on speaks volumes of how he can help this team become better on defense in a short amount of time. Personally, I believe the trio that includes Chaisson, Allen, and possibly Yannick Ngakoue could be one of the under-the-radar pass-rushing units in the NFL this season.

At first, I wasn’t sure of selecting Chaisson was the right move for the Jaguars given they had other holes to fill and there were other players who fit the “best player available” moniker more at the time. But after watching his tape and seeing how he could be used in pass rush combinations, it might have been the best move the front office made in the draft.

I defer to Baxter, who made the call. If Chaisson, who looks like a beast ready to explode off the line, can help not only in third-down situations but strengthen the run defense on the next level, the Jacksonville Jaguars indeed got a steal in the first round.