Jacksonville Jaguars vs the NFL: The case for drafting defense
By Jeff Tice
Exhibit C: AFC teams can learn from the Arena Football League.
Do you ever watch Arena Football? No one would blame you if you don’t. But, perhaps once or twice, during the long drought between the NFL draft in April and the regular season in September, you may have tried it just to take the edge off those football withdrawal symptoms you may have felt.
One thing you notice right away is that teams are more likely to score than not, giving an edge to the team with the better defense. When a team gets a stop in arena football, it feels like scoring a touchdown in the NFL. A stop is decisive. It has meaning.
It’s not hard to imagine that sort of thing happening in the AFC over the next few years. With so many franchise quarterbacks in place, passing touchdowns may become ubiquitous. A passing attack arms race could ensue. But, if one team builds with balance and pays as much attention to their defense as they do their offense… if one team amongst the many actually has the ability to slow the others down, wouldn’t that be the team with the edge? So what does all this have to do with the Jags? Simple:
The Jaguars must take defensive talent in a draft loaded with it.
Granted, the Jaguars can’t ignore the offense either. With the coming onslaught of points and passing yards, even a very good defense will only be able to do so much.
Jacksonville will have to keep pace and continue to put pieces around their franchise quarterback. Good thing they have been doing just that. This offseason, Trent Baalke, and Doug Pederson have added new starters at offensive line, wide receiver, and tight end.