The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t had a good season regardless of the metric you want to use. Following the firing of general manager Dave Caldwell the organization is starting fresh and trying to build this team up from the bottom in order to be competitive in the coming years.
However, there are a lot of things they need to do in order to get to that point and there are plenty of pieces they must add before that happens. While a franchise quarterback is obviously the number one point of emphasis, it would be foolish to think Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence, or Zach Wilson will immediately have success with Jacksonville’s current roster.
So, where do the Jaguars need help at the most? Quarterback is their clearest need. Barring the biggest bonehead move in franchise history, the new regime will select a top-notch signal-caller with the second overall pick in the 2021 draft. These are their biggest roster needs besides quarterback.
This may be a bit surprising coming in at two, but a stout pass rush can hide a lot of flaws in a defense. If you’re able to pressure opposing quarterbacks quickly and consistently it immediately limits what an offense can do and allows a defense to gameplan for quicker throws.
The Jags have the opposite of that right now. They rank 29th in the league with only 15 total sacks, and to be honest, they lucked into four or five of them.
They must give defensive end Josh Allen some help chasing down quarterbacks. Rookie K’Lavon Chaisson is not in the right position and needs much more time to develop. The Jags have to be able to apply pressure upfront to help their young (and often injured) secondary.
The Jacksonville Jaguars must fortify these areas in the offseason.
This one is tough. Cam Robinson and Jawaan Taylor have not been consistently bad, and have had their moments throughout the season. Nevertheless, there have been too many times these offensive tackles have been tormented by opposing pass rushers in crucial situations.
They got steamrolled against the Minnesota Vikings on a third and eight in the second half, a mistake that led to a safety. Against the Green Bay Packers, a potential game-winning drive was derailed because Taylor and Robinson were beaten on back-to-back plays. They simply haven’t been consistent enough this season.
With a young, new franchise quarterback set to take the reigns under center in 2021, protecting him has to be a massive priority. Either Taylor and Robinson have to improve drastically before the 2021 season begins or the new regime will be on the hunt for their replacements either in the draft or free agency.
You could make the case for cornerback here, and they could definitely use another corner, but the emergence of Sidney Jones and rookie C.J. Henderson‘s play makes the corner position just an edge better than what this team has at safety.
Josh Jones and Jarrod Wilson have not been bad by any stretch of the imagination and even rookie Daniel Thomas has shown some solid potential, but the Jaguars need a true difference-maker. Look at what top-notch safeties like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Eddie Jackson, Budda Baker, Derwin James, and Harrison Smith do for their teams when healthy.
If you can draft or acquire some like any of these, your defense will be vastly improved and present you with a true playmaker you can trust in the back end that will immediately shut down big plays.
These aren’t as pressing, but the Jacksonville Jaguars must address them.
If you look at Jacksonville’s history, there might not be a time when they had a top-five tight end in the league, maybe not even top ten. Marcedes Lewis and Kyle Brady are pretty much it when you talk about Jaguars’ tight ends. They need a playmaker that defenses have to gameplan around.
Kyle Pitts at Florida is a prospect a lot of fans are salivating over. He may be out of reach with the ‘Jags’ second first-round pick, which is projected to be the 26th overall, but even if they cannot snag the Gators standout, there are other options out there. Whoever the new general manager is has to bring someone in who he believes can be that play-making tight end.
There are not many other assets a young quarterback loves more than a great tight end. It provides a big security blanket and is typically close to the signal-caller on their routes.
‘But the run defense is better!‘
Yes. It is better, which is why it’s at six and not two. However, the interior defensive line still needs improvement. Taven Bryan is out, he’s not good enough, and there’s not much else to be said about that. Abry Jones is the elder statesman and is a good, not great player. DaVon Hamilton and Doug Costin have come in as rookies and been extremely solid, but it’s not enough.
The Jags don’t have a great rotation along the defensive line right now though. Jacksonville could really use more help in this front four and investing a third-round pick in the unit seems like a good thing to do.