Once Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson finishes putting together his staff, the team’s brass will be able to turn its attention to evaluating their roster and this year’s free-agent class.
The Jags will have around $60 million in cap space at their disposal this offseason. That’s more than enough to bring back some of their own free agents and ink a couple of big-name players in the open market. Sure, teams must build through the draft but free agency is a way to quickly fill roster needs and Jacksonville has several of them, so it would be a good idea to dip their toes in this year’s free-agency period.
Without further ado, here’s a ranking of the top five free agents the Jaguars should target.
No. 5 free agent the Jaguars must target in 2022 – Brandon Scherff, OG.
Jaguars starting offensive linemen A.J. Cann and Andrew Norwell are set to hit the open market. While it makes sense to re-sign the former, the Jaguars may want to let the latter walk away and sign Brandon Scherff to take his place in the lineup.
Scherff has been one of the best guards in the league since being drafted fifth overall by the Washington Commanders in 2015. Since then, he’s earned five Pro Bowl selections and one All-Pro designation.
The Iowa product is so valuable to the Commanders that he’s been slapped with the franchise tag twice but it’s unlikely that he will get a third. If he becomes a free agent, he will be one of the most coveted players in the open market. Pro Football Focus expects the guard to get a three-year, $50 million deal with $30 million guaranteed this offseason.
The Jaguars have cap space to secure Scherff’s services but will have to take two things into consideration before handing him a deal. First, the veteran guard hasn’t played a full season since 2016 and has missed 25 games over the last five years. Second, the front office must feel comfortable allocating so much money to the guard position. If they do, they should then make a run for him.
No. 4 free agent the Jaguars must target in 2022 – De’Vondre Campbell.
Linebacker isn’t the Jaguars’ biggest need on defense this offseason. However, no team should be able to pass up the chance to acquire a playmaker, and that’s precisely what De’Vondre Campbell was for the Green Bay Packers in 202.
Campbell has appeared in 91 games with 86 starts throughout his six-year NFL career. He played his best football last season, logging 146 total tackles, six tackles for a loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, two interceptions. Furthermore, he was a First-Team All-Pro. Back in 2019, he posted similar numbers. In fact, he snagged one more interception. With that kind of production, you would think that he signed a multi-year deal last offseason but he was only able to secure a one-year contract.
After the most productive season of his NFL career, Campbell should have a more robust market for his services and the Jaguars should strongly consider placing a bid for him IF they don’t re-sign linebacker Damien Wilson, who also had a productive 2021 campaign.
Spotrac projects Campbell to ink a three-year deal worth $18.85 million, which isn’t cost-prohibitive and is in fact relatively affordable for a team with the kind of cap space the Jags will have this offseason. Both Wilson and Campbell shined last season and both of them are slated to become free agents. The former might be the more affordable of the two but the latter is the better one. If the Jags were given the choice, which one should they choose?
No. 3 free agent the Jaguars must target in 2022 – Harold Landry, OLB.
One of the toughest choices the Jaguars will need to make is deciding who will be their pick at number one in the 2022 NFL Draft. They have several options, including the two pass rushers in the draft, Aidan Hutchinson and Kayvon Thibodeaux, Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal and maybe even trading down.
If the Jaguars are interested in taking Neal, they could still add a pass rusher to line up opposite outside linebacker Josh Allen, and that would be Harold Landry, who’s played the last four seasons for the division-rival Tennesee Titans. A second-round selection in 2018, he’s logged 256 total tackles, 41 tackles for a loss, 31 sacks (12.0 in 2021), three forced fumbles, and two interceptions over the last four years.
By signing Landry, the Jags would give their pass rush a boost while weakening a division foe. On the other hand, he won’t come cheap. Edge rushers get paid a premium, just like quarterbacks and offensive linemen, because they are so hard to find. If the Jags are interested in acquiring the services of Landry in free agency, they will need to secure a Brink’s armored truck with plenty of bags of money beforehand. After all, he’s projected to sign a four-year, $68.4 million contract this offseason, according to Spotrac.
While Landry would be a terrific acquisition, the Jags must make sure they will be comfortable passing up the chance to select Hutchinson and Thibodeaux in the draft.
No. 2 free agent the Jaguars must target in 2022 – Dalton Schultz, TE.
Getting as many weapons as possible for Trevor Lawrence and putting him in a position to succeed, should be the Jaguars’ biggest priority this offseason. While the offense is in need of a number one wide receiver, the tight end position can’t be overlooked.
This is going to be a relatively deep tight end class with all kinds of prices for all types of budgets. After being traded to the Arizona Cardinals, Zach Ertz showed he’s still gas left in the tank and due to his connection to head coach Doug Pederson, it makes sense to target him in free agency. On the other hand, the Jaguars could also pursue Dalton Schultz, who hauled in 78 receptions for 808 yards with eight receiving touchdowns.
Schultz is going to command retail compensation in the open market. Pro Football Focus expects him to sign a four-year, $45 million with $25.25 million guaranteed. However, he might be a better option than Ertz simply because he’s younger and might not have reached his ceiling yet. After all, the 2018 fourth-round pick didn’t play in the first two seasons of his NFL career, so the best may be yet to come for him.
Of course, Pederson could want to get the old back together, so Ertz might have a higher chance of landing in Jacksonville. But if the Jaguars’ front office isn’t afraid to be aggressive in free agency, Schultz should be the choice.
No. 1 free agent the Jaguars must target in 2022 – Odell Beckham Jr., WR.
With Michael Gallup and Chris Godwin suffering serious injuries towards the end of the 2021 season, the wide receiver market won’t be as enticing as it looked a few months ago. Both players will be rehabbing throughout the offseason and won’t probably be available for the start of the year. However, there will still be options to choose from and Odell Beckham Jr. might be the best of the bunch.
Beckham wasn’t particularly effective during his stint with the Cleveland Browns, posting only one 1,000-yard season during his three-year tenure. But it all changed once he was released and signed by the Los Angeles Rams. Although the 2014 first-round pick was off to a slow start with his new team, he became a key cog in the offense and played a big role during the Rams’ playoff run.
For the first time in his career, Beckham will play in the Super Bowl and fellow wide receiver Copper Kupp recently talked about how important he was for the Rams over the last two months. Los Angeles general manager Les Snead has a penchant for retaining the team’s superstars and there’s a chance they will be able to re-sign Beckham but if they don’t, the Jaguars should target him in free agency.
Beckham has shown he can play at a high level when he’s focused and he’s the kind of playmaker that could help Trevor Lawrence make a leap in 2022. It’s uncertain what his asking price will be but the Jags should have no trouble matching it, even if it’s around an average of $17 million per year or something along those lines.