3 moves the Jacksonville Jaguars got right in the 2023 offseason

2. The Jaguars found a RB2 at a bargain price in free agency

The Jags focus on making depth signings in free agency. Most of the moves ended up not moving the needle but there's one that stood out: Inking D'Ernest Johnson to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million. At the time of the signing, Travis Etienne was firmly entrenched at the top of the depth chart, and JaMycal Hasty showed in 2022 that he could be a solid RB2.

Johnson wasn't a lock to make the roster, and if he wanted to seize a roster spot, he would have to earn it. Working in his favor is that he could contribute on special teams. The former South Florida Bull worked his way up the depth chart and beat Hasty for the No. 3 job behind rookie Tank Bigsby.

But Johnson wasn't done. With Bigsby struggling early in the season, Johnson got ahead of him on the depth chart and became the top backup behind Etienne. While his number didn't pop off the stat sheet, that was mostly due to the offensive line's struggles to create holes to run through. Still, he managed to tally 108 yards on 41 carries. It's fair to assume that he and Etienne would've ended with better numbers if the Jaguars' run blocking had been much better in 2023.

Even though Bigsby is coming off an underwhelming rookie campaign, it doesn't look like the team's brass is ready to give up. They'll probably try to give him another chance to be the top backup in 2024 but it wouldn't hurt to bring Johnson back, especially when you take into account that they won't have to break the bank.