The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off a disappointing season. Things got so bad that they cleaned house. After an extensive search, they chose Liam Coen as their new head coach. One of the reasons he got the job was because of the success he had turning the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense into a juggernaut and helping Baker Mayfield play at a high level.
In Jacksonville, Coen will be tasked with getting the running game going and getting Trevor Lawrence to play like the top-10 quarterback. If he wants to pull it off, Jeff Howe of The Athletic thinks he and whoever ends up as the general manager will need to fix one key area.
The Athletic put together a list of needs for each NFL team. For the Jaguars, Howe believes they must beef up the offensive line. Here's the skinny.
"The Jaguars need to boost their offensive line and surely need a left tackle. New coach Liam Coen’s offense will have a running identity, so the Jaguars need a tough, physical line to set the tone. They have the fifth pick in the draft, so they’ll have a good opportunity to take the first offensive lineman off the board. They’re also in the middle of the pack with about $32 million in cap space, so the Jags have the means to improve up front.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield deserved all the praise he got last season with Coen, but don’t forget the Buccaneers jumped from 32nd to fourth in rushing last season. If quarterback Trevor Lawrence is going to take off with Coen, he’ll need a successful ground attack."
Howe makes several points, some more valid than others, but ultimately is right Jacksonville must beef up the offensive trenches. As the Philadelphia Eagles proved in Super Bowl 59, you win football games at the line of scrimmage.
During Championship Sunday, quarterback Jalen Hurts routinely got good protection while running back Saquon Barkley had lots of lanes to choose from. It all started in the trenches and was possible because Philly is great at drafting bigs, and has one of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL in Jeff Stoutland.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville is coming off a season in which it was one of the worst teams at creating rushing yards before contact. That's because Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne already had defenders waiting for them by the time they reached the line of scrimmage. Coen will need to change that. Fortunately, there are reasons for optimism.
Fixing the O-Line will allow the Jaguars to take pressure off Trevor Lawrence's shoulders
Circling back to Jeff Howe, he's right the Jacksonville Jaguars must make upgrades up front. That said, left tackle isn't necessarily a pressing need with Walker Little in the fold. While the former Stanford Cardinal is far from elite, he's held his own when called upon. Just last season, he gave up a respectable two sacks and 13 pressures on 316 pass-blocking snaps. He was equally adept in the running game, posting a Pro Football Focus grade of 72.5.
On the other hand, the interior offensive line could use upgrades. Left guard Ezra Cleveland is fine, but right guard Brandon Scherff is set to become a free agent in March. Given that he's 33 and wasn't as dominant as he was during his Washington Commanders days, he probably won't return to Jacksonville. Center Mitch Morse is also entering a contract year, so it would be a good idea to start looking for his heir apparent.
The Jags could draft stud offensive lineman Will Campbell to play guard at No. 5. However, they may want to address other positions. After all, there will be no shortage of talent in later rounds. Heck, the Jags should consider adding picks in Rounds 2,3, and 4 to to take a guard, a center, and a developmental offensive tackle. This is a viable strategy when you take into account that they have an extra third and a fourth.
Once the Jaguars bolster the offensive line, Liam Coen and his staff can work on fixing the running game. Based on his work with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he should be able to do it. They went from the worst rushing offense in 2023 to a top-5 group last year.
And with a better running game, the Jaguars offense will be less predictable, and Trevor Lawrence won't have to throw 40 times per game to give his team a chance to win.
The bottom line is that fixing the offensive line will pay massive dividends for the Jacksonville Jaguars next season.