3 offseason decisions the Jacksonville Jaguars nailed in 2023, 2 they should regret
• But they also have a couple misses
• Here are 3 they got right, two that haven't paid off
2. Not trading for Danielle Hunter in the offseason
The Jaguars need to add a third pass rusher behind Travon Walker and Josh Allen to round out their rotation. They made several attempts but they all fell short. Looking back, they were right for passing on a few of the players they could've acquired. For example, they showed interest in potentially reuniting with Yannick Ngakoue before the draft but they passed on him.
Ngakoue ended up signing with the Chicago Bears but he had arguably his worst season as a pro, failing to reach the eight-sack mark for the first time in his career. Something similar happened with Frank Clark, who remained unsigned for months after becoming a free agency. He would eventually be picked up by the Denver Broncos but was let go after an underwhelming start to the 2023 season.
Having said that, the Jaguars also missed several chances to upgrade their pass rush. While trading for Chase Young or Montez Sweat would've been nice, their biggest flop was not landing Danielle Hunter in the offseason despite having a strong interest in acquiring him.
The fact that Hunter was in the middle of a contract impasse with the Minnesota Vikings made a trade to Jacksonville seem like a realistic possibility. Heck, Hunter even liked the Jaguars' official Instagram account, but the offseason came and went and no deal materialized.
Ultimately, Hunter got a new one-year deal to remain in Minnesota. Although Josh Allen is having a banner year and is one sack short of tying the franchise record Calais Campbell set of 14.5, Hunter is having an equally productive season, tallying as many sacks as his Jaguars counterpart. Imagine what could've been if they had terrorized quarterbacks opposite each other.