As the initial free agency mania dies down, the Jacksonville Jaguars have announced that they have re-signed one of their own in defensive end Adam Gotsis. The Jaguars entered this offseason with a to-do list full of positions and they made sure to prioritize addressing the defensive line during free agency.
Jaguars additional defensive line moves:
- Signed DT Roy Robertson-Harris
- Signed DE/DT Tyson Alualu
- Signed DE Jihad Ward
- Re-signed DE Dawuane Smoot
- Traded for DT Malcolm Brown
2020 was Gotsis’s first year in Jacksonville. He started 14 out of 16 games, totaling 37 tackles, three passes defended, one forced fumble, four tackles for loss, and three quarterback hits. He also recorded five pressures.
Gotsis was originally drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. During his four years in Denver, he had 109 tackles, 13 passes defended, two forced fumbles, nine tackles for loss, and 10 pressures.
Gotsis had a solid career at Georgia Tech before entering the NFL Draft. He totaled 105 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 26 tackles for loss, and two interceptions. In my view, Gotsis did not live up to his draft value and it could be argued that the Broncos felt similarly because they decided to not renew his contract.
Simply put, the Jaguars had better options available in free agency at the position than to re-sign Gotsis. They could have easily obtained more bang for their buck. Gotsis has had minimal production during his five years in the league and doesn’t provide much value to the Jaguars at this point.
Maybe the coaching staff in Jacksonville sees potential in him and thinks that they can develop him into a solid rotational player, but if the Jaguars were truly serious at upgrading their defensive line, they had alternative choices.
Jaguars had better options at defensive end
DE/OLB Ryan Kerrigan
Ryan Kerrigan has been an exceptional player for the Washington Football Team since he was drafted by the team in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft and has been one of the most consistent pass rushers in the NFL. He played the majority of his snaps at outside linebacker until he transitioned to defensive end in 2020. In 10 years, he’s totaled 454 tackles, 95.5 sacks, and 119 tackles for loss.
It’s honestly quite surprising to see that Kerrigan still remains a free agent.
DE Ronald Blair
Ronald Blair is still very young with a ton of potential left in him. He’s only started two games in his career for the San Francisco 49ers but has proved to be a valuable contributor on the defensive line. Through 47 games he has 88 total tackles, 13.5 sacks, and 22 tackles for loss.
Blair sadly tore his ACL towards the end of the 2019 season and sat out the 2020 season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list. While this injury is a concern, he’s had over a year and a half to recover and is suitable enough to bring in for a visit to see where he is along the lines of recovery.
DE Everson Griffen
Everson Griffen is another worthy veteran that could add experience to the Jaguars’ defensive line. He’s had over 388 tackles and 80.5 sacks in his career, and even at the age of 33, he still managed to put up six sacks on the 2020 season alone.
Griffen is getting older and has started to see his way around the league— spending last season in Dallas and Detroit, respectively. A one-year deal could go a long way for both Griffen and the Jaguars as they make the transition to a new and improved defense.
Other ways the Jaguars could have capitalized
DT DaQuan Jones
Defensive Tackle DaQuan Jones is another top player who is still available in free agency. Around the NFL editor, Gregg Rosenthal wrote in the NFL’s top available player list that Jones “was asked to do a lot that doesn’t show up in the box score, and he did it all well” for the Tennesee Titans. This is true when you look at his stats. He doesn’t put up a lot of sacks, which many like to focus on, but he has a tackle presence and is active in getting after the quarterback.
DT Jarran Reed
*Noted that Reed was released after Gotsis was re-signed.
Jarran Reed is an interesting name to add to the free agency mix. He was recently released by the Seattle Seahawks after a rather inconsistent five-year career. In 2018, he had a breakout season, putting up 10.5 sacks. In 2019, after serving a six-game suspension, he only recorded two sacks. In 2020, he was back up to six sacks and14 quarterback hits.
If Reed can maximize his full potential, he would be amongst the top interior defensive lineman in the league. He just first needs to find consistency and a fresh start under new Jaguars’ defensive coordinator Joe Cullen could be the right situation for him.
A questionable decision
The Jaguars’ decisions have been truly solid since free agency began but the re-signing of defensive end Adam Gotsis is a questionable one. They had and still have better alternatives at the position in free agency and the draft and could have acquired another solid defensive tackle with the money they spent on him.