5 Jaguars who need more playing time for the remainder of 2021

The Jacksonville Jaguars are trending up after beating the Buffalo Bills in Week 9. They aren’t going to suddenly go 9-0 in their remaining games but they are headed in the right direction after losing five straight games to start the 2021 season.

The Jags don’t have a realistic chance to qualify for the playoffs but that shouldn’t stop them from making moves that will help them improve. Signing wide receiver John Brown to their practice squad is a good start. It shows they make want to make adjustments to the roster.

However, adding players is not the only thing the Jaguars can do to get better. They can also tweak their current personnel and see who can help them win games this season and beyond. The only way to do that is to give some of their younger players more playing time.

In particular, these five Jaguars need to get more snaps.

Jaguars player who should play more in 2021 No. 1 – Jordan Smith

The Jaguars’ brass had a plan in place when they drafted edge rusher Jordan Smith out of UAB in this year’s draft. They wanted to bring him along slowly and have him back up defensive end/outside linebacker Josh Allen.

Smith made the Jags’ 53-man roster but has not been active for a single game in 2021. Defensive coordinator Joe Cullen recently told the local media the team is pleased with the rookie’s development and noted that he will play at some point. However, he didn’t provide a timeline, and it could very well be in Week 10 or the season finale.

It may be difficult to give Jordan playing time due to the depth the Jaguars have in their defensive line. Having said that, giving him five defensive snaps per game sounds reasonable. Let him play in passing downs and see if he can rush the passer.