Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 remaining free agents to consider after 2021’s draft

When will the Jacksonville Jaguars address the tight end position?

To be honest, there’s not much the Jaguars can do about their tight end room right now. Even though head coach Urban Meyer said revamping the unit would be a priority this offseason, the team refrained from making any major additions.

This Jacksonville team signed Chris Manhertz in free agency but even though he will play an important role in red-zone and short-yardage situations, he’s not the kind of player that can stretch the field, hauling in just six receptions along with one trip to the end zone over his six-year career.

The Jags also brought back James O’Shaughnessy and drafted Luke Farrell but neither is a deep threat either, so who can they sign to bolster the tight end room? Out of all the free-agent options the team currently has, Trey Burton is the best of the bunch.

Although Burton has dealt with injuries in the last two years, he’s shown he can be an effective player when healthy. Back in 2018, he started all16 games and hauled in 54 receptions for 569 yards and six touchdowns. While those aren’t eye-popping numbers, the Jaguars would surely welcome that kind of production considering that there aren’t currently other alternatives, Tim Tebow notwithstanding.

Will Jacksonville pull the trigger on Burton? That depends on how comfortable they feel about their current tight end room. General manager Trent Baalke believes Farrell was underutilized at Ohio State and the team might try to feature him on offense but if he falters, they should have Burton on speed dial.