Rome (nor any empire for that matter) wasn’t built in one day. While the Jacksonville Jaguars have made a few mistakes since they hired Urban Meyer as their head coach, they’ve done a good job of turning things around in a relatively short amount of time.
Keep in mind that Meyer took over a team that has made the playoffs just once over the last ten years. The former Florida head coach is trying to lay down the foundation for sustained success, something the organization hasn’t had since the early days. This Jacksonville team still has plenty of work to do if they want to become a perennial playoff contender but the early results are encouraging.
Here are the three best decisions the Jaguars have made in Meyer’s short tenure at the helm.
The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t fully committed to Cam Robinson.
Left tackle Cam Robinson has been inconsistent throughout his career but upgrading the position this offseason may have been cost-prohibitive. The team’s brass could’ve signed Trent Williams in free agency, but his price might not have been within budget. There was also Orlando Brown Jr., whom the Chiefs ultimately traded for, but Jacksonville would’ve needed to compensate the Baltimore Ravens and also give Brown a top-market contract.
The Jaguars decided to compromise and slapped Robinson with the franchise tag. They are giving the Alabama product one more chance to turn the corner. However, they don’t have a commitment beyond 2021, so if he doesn’t show he’s the long-term solution at left tackle, the team can simply move on from him without any repercussions.
Robinson will now have the chance to prove he is a franchise left tackle. If he plays up to his potential, the Jaguars won’t mind giving him a multi-year deal that pays him handsomely.
The Jacksonville Jaguars invested in their secondary.
At first sight, it looks like the Jaguars didn’t need to draft Georgia cornerback Tyson Campbell. You could also argue that the team overpaid for the services of Shaquill Griffin. However, both moves were needed, even smart, when you take into consideration how thin Jacksonville was a cornerback last year.
C.J. Henderson missed the second half of the season with a groin injury. Sidney Jones was having a career revival before he suffered an Achilles injury. Furthermore, D.J. Hayden was placed on the Injury/Reserve list with a hamstring injury. With their top 3 cornerbacks out with injury, Greg Mabin and Luq Barcoo ended up getting playing time.
The team doesn’t want to be in the same position once against so they loaded at cornerback this offseason. Besides re-signing Jones and Tre Herndon, Jacksonville added Griffin and Campbell. Nevertheless, they didn’t stop there, they also added Rayshawn Jenkins and Andre Cisco to their safety group.
Just like the cornerback room, the Jaguars’ safety group was struck by injuries last year. Daniel Thomas showed flashes of playmaking prowess as a rookie and even started two games before an arm injury ended his season. Veteran Jarrod Wilson also missed four games. Jenkins will most likely line up next to Wilson and it may be a matter of time before Cisco joins the starting lineup.
It’s true that the Jags may have paid a premium for Griffin’s and Jenkins’ services, but they had the most cap space in the league. They needed to spend it somewhere and they rightfully decided to do it on their secondary, which has the potential to be a strength in 2021.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are surrounding Trevor Lawrence with weapons.
The Jaguars earned the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft because they played poorly last year? So how bad were they? Bad enough to lose 15 straight games and allow 30 points or more in six consecutive games after winning the season opener. They were so dreadful that limiting their opponents to ‘just’ 24 points was considered progress. There certainly some bright spots but not many to overcome their lack of talent.
The organization had three clear objectives after the 2020 season: Clean the house, find the right man to oversee a rebuild, and draft a franchise quarterback. Surprisingly, they did all three this offseason. They moved on from Doug Marrone, they then hired Meyer to build a contender, and finally, they used the top pick in this year’s selection meeting on Trevor Lawrence.
The Jaguars aren’t expecting Lawrence to be their savior. They know he will be a key building block but are also aware they need him to surround him with talent if they want him to succeed. Thus, they added Marvin Jones Jr. this offseason and made sure all their starting offensive linemen from 2020 returned.
Furthermore, this Jacksonville team solidified their running back with the addition of Travis Etienne in the draft. The former Tiger is lining up at wide receiver and could give the Jaguars’ offense a dual threat. Etienne and rookie sensation James Robinson will form a dynamic running back tandem that should take some pressure off Lawrence’s shoulders.
The Jags could still need to address the tight end position but you can’t fully rebuild a team in one offseason. So far, they have taken the right steps and ensured Lawrence has enough talent around him to win some games in his rookie campaign.