3 signings the Jacksonville Jaguars could make in free agency that would cause revolt

2. Connor Williams, center

Center is arguably the Jaguars' biggest need ahead of free agency. Although Luke Fortner has proven to be durable, playing every possible snap on offense the last two years, he doesn't have much else going in his favor. The former Kentucky Wildcat was expected to make a leap in Year 2 but instead took a step back. His underwhelming play was one of the reasons the Jags couldn't pound the football inside.

While it's hard to see the Jaguars outright releasing Fortner, they should look for a better alternative at center. Connor Williams is Pro Football Focus' projected No. 1 player at the position, so he would be an upgrade in theory. However, the Jaguars should be wary of him, having already suffered two torn ACLs, with the latest one coming in 2023.

Williams began his career playing guard for the Dallas Cowboys but he truly hit his stride when he moved to center in 2022. He first hurt his ACL in 2019 but didn't skip a beat, playing all 16 games the following year. He was briefly benched in 2021 before playing all snaps in 2022. By all accounts, Williams was trending up in the right direction before tearing his ACL again last year.

At 26, the former Texas Longhorn still has plenty of football ahead of him. Heck, he should be able to make a full recovery from the ACL injury. That said, there's an equal chance it will take him more than a year to truly get back on track. And that's the thing, if he were healthy, the Jaguars shouldn't hesitate to target him in free agency, but he isn't.

Despite his injury, Williams will probably be one of the top centers in the open market, but the Jaguars should let other teams find out whether he'll fully recover, especially when you take into account that other centers won't enter free agency with injury flags (Aaron Brewer, Andre James).