The Jacksonville Jaguars’ search for a new head coach lasted several weeks and probably more than it should but it’s now officially over, as Doug Pederson will fill the vacancy left by Urban Meyer.
Pederson will need to get to work as soon as possible, as free agency is around the corner. Furthermore, he and general manager Trent Baalke must sit together and evaluate the current state of the roster. They will need to decide what positional groups they will need to prioritize this offseason but also which players need to get the boot and which ones have to take the next step next season.
While some players might not fit Pederson’s vision, these four should benefit from his presence.
No. 1 Jaguars player who benefits from Doug Pederson – Walker Little.
Left tackle Cam Robinson played well in the second half of the 2021 season and deserves a multi-year contract after playing the year under the franchise tag. It remains to be seen if the Jags are the ones that give it to him, as they have Walker Little waiting under the wing.
Despite the fact that Little hardly played early in his rookie campaign, he made the most of his chance when given the chance, allowing just one total pressure and no sacks in the last two games of the season. Even if the Jags decide to re-sign Robinson, Doug Pederson will find a spot for the former Stanford Cardinal in the starting offensive line.
If Little doesn’t start at left tackle, he could compete with Jawaan Taylor for the right tackle job. Regardless of where he lines up, Pederson won’t let him stand on the sidelines.
No. 2 Jaguars player who benefits from Doug Pederson – Travis Etienne.
Drafted 25th overall in 2021, running back Travis Etienne didn’t get a chance to make an impact on the football after suffering a Lisfranc injury in the preseason. Out for the year, the former Clemson Tiger will have to wait until the 2022 season to make his NFL debut.
Etienne should return for training camp, so he will have more than time to get acclimated to wearing pads once again. With fellow running back James Robinson recovering from a torn Achilles, E-T-N might have to carry a heavy workload early in the season. Even though he’s coming off a serious injury, he should have no trouble helping the Jaguars move the ball and score more points than they did last year.
As of this writing, it’s uncertain who will be in Doug Pederson’s coaching staff but he could certainly use Etienne the way he deployed Eagles running back Miles Sanders in 2019. That year, ‘Boobie’ totaled 1,327 yards from scrimmage and logged six total touchdowns. There’s no doubt Etienne can have that kind of production if he remains healthy in 2022.
Pederson will likely have Etienne split the workload with Robinson once the latter is healthy but the duo will still be able to remain productive. Urban Meyer wasn’t known for his coaching acumen on offense in the later years of his collegiate career and it’s unknown how he wanted to use Etienne. In that regard, Pederson will have a clear vision and should be able to turn him and Robinson into one of the best running back duos in the NFL.
No. 3 Jaguars player who benefits from Doug Pederson – Laviska Shenault.
Wide receiver Laviska Shenault was supposed to have a breakout year in 2021 but struggled to make a difference on the Jaguars’ defense instead. While he logged more catches and receiving yards than he did in his rookie campaign, his yards per average took a dip and didn’t score a single touchdown. To add insult to injury, he had ten drops. However you look at it, that’s simply unacceptable.
Viska had a chance to fill the void left by teammate DJ Chark Jr. when he suffered an ankle fracture but couldn’t seize it. It’s possible that the Jaguars’ lack of direction affected him or maybe he didn’t get adequate coaching. Regardless of the reason, the 2020 second-overall pick should get a fresh start under Doug Pederson and pick up where he left off at the end of his rookie year.
Even though “Shenaughty by Nature” didn’t live up to expectations last season, he had some bright moments. Back in Week 4, he hauled in six passes for 99 yards and he also forced 20 missed tackles. Pederson should help Shenault turn those flashes into steady production in 2022.
Another thing that could help Shenault is the potential return of Chark, who is slated to become a free agent. The Jaguars should make it a priority to re-sign him this offseason, as he can stretch the field and open things up for his teammates. With Chark drawing coverages away, Shenault should be able to thrive.
No. 4 Jaguars player who benefits from Doug Pederson – Trevor Lawrence.
There’s no Jaguars player that will benefit from Doug Pederson’s presence than quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He should be able to take the next step in his development and live up to his drat billing under Pederson’s tutelage.
Now, there’s no way to sugarcoat it. Lawrence didn’t have a good rookie campaign. In fact, he made several head-scratching throws and lead the NFL with 17 interceptions. In his defense, it didn’t look like Urban Meyer had a plan to develop him and he reportedly clashed with his staff about the kind of offense the team would run. That’s not the kind of situation you want your franchise quarterback to be in, especially at such an early stage of his career.
On the bright side, Lawrence showed flashes of the talent that made him the top overall pick in last year’s draft in the season finale, throwing two touchdown passes with no interceptions and a completion rate of 71.88. That kind of performance should carry over into the 2022 season now that Pederson is the head coach
Back in Philadelphia, Pederson helped quarterback Carson Wentz play at an elite level in just his second season in the league. Even though Wentz suffered a torn ACL that year, the Eagles didn’t miss a beat when Nick Foles took over at quarterback and defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52. Pederson showed he can win with whatever quarterback he has at hand and it shouldn’t be any different with Lawrence and the Jaguars. In fact, he could craft his magnum opus in Jacksonville, how’s that for a hot take?