Jacksonville Jaguars must make offense a bigger priority this offseason
The Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the worst defenses in the NFL in 2020 and should definitively look for ways to improve it this offseason. However, last year’s playoff teams showed the importance of having a top-scoring offense.
Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports recently wrote about trends from the 2020 season that will carry over to free agency and the draft. He points out that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers loaded on offensive talent last season last year even though they had a solid skilled-position group in 2019. Moreover, he points out that nine of the top ten scoring teams in 2020 qualified for the postseason and the top three made the conference championship game.
Meanwhile, three of the top ten in scoring defense missed the playoffs. Trapasso doesn’t say that teams should flat out ignore the defensive side of the ball. He’s simply stating the importance of scoring points in today’s NFL. In fact, he talks about how important an effective pass rush is to stop opposing teams from putting points on the scoreboard.
The Jacksonville Jaguars need to add weapons on offense.
The Jaguars’ defense finished 31st in both points allowed and total yards last season and nobody will deny the benefits of having a defense that can make a stop at critical times and can come away with a couple of turnovers. Nevertheless, they must also add talent on offense if they want to keep up with opposing teams this upcoming season.
This Jacksonville team will use the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft to take a quarterback, but they shouldn’t stop there. They also need to upgrade the left tackle position, add a dynamic tight end, and round out their wide receiver corps. They will have ten draft picks (not counting the first overall), and $77 million in cap space, so they will have enough resources to take care of all those needs without the need to neglect their defense.
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The Jaguars’ offense wasn’t completely devoid of talent in 2020. They already have a few playmakers in place such as running back James Robinson and wide receivers DJ Chark Jr. and Laviska Shenault Jr. However, if they want to put Lawrence or whatever quarterback they draft in a position to succeed, they need to surround with as much offensive talent as they can.