The 2023 NFL preseason is inching closer, which means that teams will start dropping their first unofficial depth charts of the year. The Jacksonville Jaguars did so Tuesday and there are a handful of interesting tidbits.
To nobody's surprise, except for maybe Pro Football Focus, Calvin Ridley is the No. 1 receiver on the depth chart. The Jags traded for him last year but he was serving a suspension for betting on football games. He was reinstated in March and he's been putting in the work to become a game-changer for Jacksonville in 2023.
Ridley's spot on the depth chart aside, here are three takeaways from the Jaguars' first unofficial depth chart of the 2023 season.
3. Blake Hance is starting at LG for the Jaguars but that should change
Ben Bartch suffered a knee injury last year and is still a few weeks away from being 100 percent. For the time being, he's on the Active/Physical Unable to Perform List. When Bartch when down last year, veteran Tyler Shatley took his spot in the lineup and went on to start 14 games (12 in the regular season and two in the playoffs).
Shatley was getting first-team reps with the first team in training camp before leaving with a heart condition. He's fine and he will eventually be back but the Jaguars are leaning on Blake Hance for the moment. This was reflected on the depth chart, where Hance is the starting left guard.
After going undrafted in 2019, Hance spent time with the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders before joining the Jags. He spent the 2019 season with Jacksonville but was waived the following year. The Northwestern product started eight games for the Cleveland Browns in 2021. Last year, he latched on the San Francisco 49ers, where he spent two months, before landing on the Jags' practice squad.
Now, Hance is set to start for the Jaguars against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1 of the preseason. However, he will most likely return to the sidelines (and maybe the practice squad) once Shatley and/or Bartch is good to go.
2. Tank Bigsby has seized the No. 2 spot on the Jaguars depth chart
Travis Etienne is firmly entrenched as the top running back on the depth chart and is expected to tally 1,300 yards or more next season. However, the presence of Tank Bigsby might make it difficult for Etienne to accumulate that many yards.
A third-round pick in this year's draft, Bigsby joined a crowded running back room that included JaMycal Hasty, who became the top backup at the position when James Robinson was traded, free-agent acquisition D'Ernest Johnson and sophomore Snoop Conner.
Hasty signed a two-year extension in the offseason and due to the arrival of Johnson and the presence of Conner, drafting Bigsby seemed unnecessary. But with the benefit of hindsight, it looks like a wise decision. After all, teams are in the business of hoarding as much talent as possible and general manager Trent Baalke wasn't going to pass up the chance to take a potential workhorse who's got the ability to churn out yards.
Auburn, a star running back at Auburn, has taken advantage of his opportunities in Jaguars training camp, so it's not surprising to see him move ahead of both Hasty and Johnson on the depth chart. On the other hand, it's difficult to see Conner making the 53-man roster in 2023. Although head coach Doug Pederson praised him in a recent exchange with the media, he's failed to stand out throughout the offseason.
Currently sitting at the No. 5 on the depth chart, it looks like Conner is a strong candidate to land on the Jaguars' practice squad next season. While Hasty and Johnson still have time to make an impression, it looks like they'll be competing for the No. 3 spot.
1. The Jaguars are still sorting out the pass rush depth chart for 2023
The Jaguars have a couple of talented pass rushers in Josh Allen and Travon Walker. Both are expected to improve and be the team's top pass rushers in 2023. However, there's not much depth behind them and that's reflected on the first unofficial depth chart.
Early in training camp, head coach Doug Pederson told the local media that outside linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson was slated to be No. 3 in the pass rush rotation. This doesn't particularly inspire confidence when you take into account that Chaisson, a 2020 first-round selection, has been a non-factor for much of the last three seasons. The coachings is still high on the player known as Swiper but unless he makes a huge leap next season, the Jags could have trouble getting after the quarterback.
Right now, rookie Yasir Abdullah sits behind Allen but he hasn't done much of note in training camp and might need a bit more of time to be ready to contribute. Jordan Smith, a fourth-round pick in the 2021 draft, missed last season with a torn ACL, and is No. 3 behind Abdullah. Unless he impress in the preseason he could be shown the door when the team's brass trims down the roster to 53 players.
There's still time for one of the Jaguars' young edge defenders to step up. However, they should start getting fidgety, especially when you take into account that they're running out of outside options to bolster their pass rush.