Jaguars: 5 former Ohio State players Urban Meyer could sign in free agency
The Jacksonville Jaguars need to take a deep dive into the free agency pool this year and they have plenty of cap space to make that happen. Now that Urban Meyer is the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, we can be curious as to which Ohio State players he may draft or even sign in free agency.
Jaguars have to target these five free agents:
S Malik Hooker – Indianapolis Colts
The Jaguars could use some serious help at safety and Malik Hooker should be one of their top targets. The Indianapolis Colts declined his fifth-year option after he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in Week 2 of this last season. Hooker is a good player but has struggled with consistency in his full three seasons in the NFL.
Considering Urban Meyer was his college coach and they even won a college football National Championship together, Meyer might be able to help Hooker reach his full potential in Jacksonville.
DE John Simon – New England Patriots
The Jaguars could use all of the help that they can get on the defensive line. While John Simon isn’t a hands in the dirt kind of player, he has emerged as an incredibly solid linebacker/defensive end during his times with the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, and more recently, the New England Patriots. He has over 277 combined tackles, 21 sacks, and 25 tackles for loss in his NFL career.
At Ohio State, in 2012, Simon was named Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year under Meyer.
G Pat Elflein – New York Jets
The Jaguars offensive line is not up to shape to welcome a rookie quarterback in Jacksonville. Pat Elflein is a solid run blocker and pass protector and has experience at both guard and center. He’s still quite young since he was only drafted back in 2017 and has a ton of untapped potential.
RB Carlos Hyde – Seattle Seahawks
Carlos Hyde previously spent time in Jacksonville during the 2018 season. He never got to fully settle in and would be released that following March. Hyde is a very good running back who had a good tenure in San Francisco but just hasn’t found a ton of consistency moving between four teams since. He did very well in Seattle in 2020 and they will likely want him back. But maybe there’s a chance he wants to reunite with his former head coach down in Jacksonville. Young back James Robinson could use the mentoring.
Next. Jacksonville Jaguars: 2 reasons to put your Urban Meyer doubts to rest. dark
WR Curtis Samuel – Carolina Panthers
It seems fairly unlikely that the Carolina Panthers would let Curtis Samuel walk but considering the chance he does, the Jaguars would be a good fit. If they don’t re-sign Chris Conley or Keelan Cole, they will have a very young receiving corp. Samuel would be the perfect young but veteran player to add.