Newly hired head coach Doug Pederson will be tasked with helping the Jacksonville Jaguars leave the cellar of the NFL and start winning games on a consistent basis. By his own admission, this won’t happen overnight and it will take plenty of work from all parties involved — the front office the coaching staff, and the players — to right the ship.
Offensive coordinator Press Taylor will have his work cut out, as the Jaguars struggled to move the ball and score points last season. Of course, getting a few playmakers this offseason could make his job be a tad easier. In particular, Jacksonville’s tight end room could use an upgrade and if the front office wants to give the unit a boost in free agency, they could then target any of these five players.
No.1 tight end the Jaguars should target in free agency – OJ Howard.
This year’s free-agent class of tight ends is going to be a deep one and there will be all kinds of options for all spending budgets. If the Jaguars want to take on a reclamation project, O.J. Howard is then their man.
A first-round selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2017, Howard hauled in a combined 94 receptions for 1,456 yards and 12 touchdowns over his first three NFL seasons. However, he tumbled down the Bucs’ depth chart due to the presence of Cameron Brate and the arrival of Rob Gronkowski and caught a paltry 25 passes for 281 yards for three touchdowns in the last two years.
Howard could benefit from a change of scenery and due to his recent lack of production, it won’t probably be expensive to sign him. He could be a solid low-key, affordable addition to the Jaguars’ tight end that could pay dividends.
No.2 tight end the Jaguars should target in free agency – Evan Engram.
Here’s another former first-round pick that could help the Jaguars score more points in 2022. Tight end Evan Engram had a productive rookie campaign, hauling in 64 receptions for 722 yards and six touchdowns. Although he hasn’t been able to recreate that kind of production, he’s been consistent over the last four seasons, averaging 49.5 catches, 526 receiving yards, and 2.5 touchdowns a year.
You could argue that the New York Giants’ subpar quarterback play has hurt Engram and he could see his numbers go up in Jacksonville with Trevor Lawrence throwing passes at him. The tight end is one of the few offensive weapons Big Blue currently has on their roster, so they might want to latch onto him in free agency. However, they are currently $11 million over the cap and will probably have competition for his services, so they could have a hard time keeping him.
Spotrac expects Engram to strike a four-year contract worth $27 million ($6.7 million average). Similarly, Pro Football Focus projects him to get a two-year deal that pays him an average of $9 million per season.
Teams may not be willing to fork that kind of money for a player that has been productive but hasn’t had a true breakout season. Again, the Giants’ offense may have held Engram back and if the Jaguars think he could reach his potential in Jacksonville, they should get on the phone with his agent.
No. 3 tight end the Jaguars should target in free agency – Mo Alie-Cox.
Jaguars fans might know Indianapolis Colts tight end Mo Alie-Cox for two reasons. The first one is supporting Tim Tebow during his failed transition from quarterback to tight end last offseason. And the second one? He plays for a division rival.
A college basketball player in college, Alie-Cox landed in Indy as an undrafted free agent in Indy in 2017 and spent his rookie campaign on their practice squad. He made their roster the following season and went on to appear in nine games with one start and catch 13 receptions for 133 yards. He had similar production in 2019 but hauled in 55 receptions for 710 yards with six touchdowns over the last twos seasons. The Virginia Commonwealth product signed a one-year, $3.38 million deal to return to Indianapolis last year and could get a similar deal this offseason.
Colts general manager Chris Ballards has stated that even though they want to upgrade their tight end room, they would also like to re-sign Alie-Cox with Jack Doyle’s potential retirement looming. There’s a chance Alie-Cox hasn’t reached his ceiling as a football player, which could make it an intriguing option in free agency. Pro Football Focus expects him to sign a three-year, $21 million contract with $10 million guaranteed this offseason. If the Jaguars think he can still improve, they should bet on him.
No. 4 tight end the Jaguars should target in free agency – Dalton Schultz.
The Dallas Cowboys had the No. 1 offense in the NFL last season, amassing 530 points and 6,919 yards. Dak Prescott’s return from a season-ending ankle injury in 2020 certainly played a big role but so did Big D’s arsenal of weapons.
The Cowboys’ wide receiver corps was one of the best in the league in 2021 and even though they didn’t have Michael Gallup for a significant amount of time, they didn’t miss a beat. Also, tight end Dalton Schultz became a key cog on their offense, tallying 78 receptions for 808 yards and eight touchdowns.
A fourth-round pick by the Cowboys in the 2018 draft, Schultz didn’t get much playing time in his first two NFL seasons but he worked his way up the depth chart and became their starting tight end in 2020. Dallas would surely love to bring back the former Stanford Cardinal but they are currently on a cap crunch and might have a hard time making a competitive offer for his services.
Schultz and Mike Gesicki could be the top two tight ends in this free agency and both of them should get a top-market contract. However, the Jaguars might be better off paying a premium for the former, who is the more well-rounded player of the two. Think about it, if the Jags are going to make a heavy investment, they might as well get the most bang for their buck. Pro Football Focus projects Schultz to sign a four-year deal worth $52 million ($13 million per year). While that seems like a steep price, he would give the Jaguars’ tight end group a noticeable boost.
No. 5 tight end the Jaguars should target in free agency – Zach Ertz.
NFL head coaches often bring in players they’ve previously worked with and it wouldn’t be shocking to see Doug Pederson do it in Jacksonville. Some of his former players are set to hit the open market this offseason and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Jags target a few of them, including tight end Zach Ertz.
Two or three years seem like a long time in the NFL but it’s easy to forget that Ertz was one of the top tight ends in the league as recently as 2019. That year, he hauled in 88 receptions for 916 yards with six touchdowns. But injuries and inconsistency at quarterback hurt his production the following season, and he posted a paltry 335 yards on 36 receptions and 9.3 yards per grab, both career lows.
Ertz proved the 2020 season was an outlier when he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals in the middle of the 2021 season. The veteran tight end suited up for 11 games with the Cards and caught 56 catches for 574 yards and three touchdowns, showing he’s still got plenty of gas left in the tank at the ripe age of 31.
Back in 2018, Ertz set the current record for receptions by a tight end in a season with 116 and could once again reach the 100-reception mark with a better quarterback play. Coincidentally, the Jaguars have Trevor Lawrence in place and plenty of cap space to sign the 2013 second-round pick this offseason.
Spotrac expects Ertz to sign a two-year deal worth $15.2 million ($7.6 million average) this offseason. That could be a bargain if he can recreate the production he have a couple of years ago. There will be other tight ends in free agency but Ertz’s previous ties to Pederson make him a candidate to sign with the Jaguars this offseason.