From an outside perspective, a season may seem like the blink of an eye but 17 games are more than enough time for NFL teams that got off to a slow start to put it all together and finish strong. Conversely, clubs that were seemingly poised to contend can come crashing down in that span. Either way, the point is that it's hard to tell how things will play out based on a one or two-game sample and that's true for every club, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are currently 1-1 after falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.
Heading into the season, the Jags were seen as a candidate to make a strong playoff push. It looked like they were the real deal following their win over the Indianapolis Colts in the opener. Then, the Chiefs loss came and some cracks in their plan for the 2023 season came to light. In particular, a handful of decisions the team's brass made earlier this year don't look particularly great two games into the season.
While there are reasons to believe said decisions were bad, it's too early to come up with a verdict. In fact, the case can be made that they'll eventually pay off. With that in mind, here are four decisions that currently look dreadful but have the potential to be pretty good.
4. Not making upgrades on the Jaguars interior offensive line
The Jaguars interior offensive line has been less than stellar the past two games. Left guard Ben Bartch, center Luke Fortner and right guard have all struggled in both pass protection and opening lanes in the running game. In Bartch's case, he missed most of the offseason while he recovered from a knee injury he suffered last year, so he may need a bit of time to hit his stride.
On the other hand, both right guard Brandon Scherff and center Luke Fortner were dealing with ankle injuries heading into Week 2, so there's a reason to believe they'll get bounce back once they're 100 percent healthy.
This begs the question, why did Scherff and Fortner suit up if they weren't a full-go? The reason is simple. They could've gone with veteran Tyler Shatley but the coaching staff knows that there's a dropoff, so they went with Scherff knowing he gave them a better chance to win. This raises another question, why didn't they bolster their depth in the offseason?
The Jaguars could've added an experienced guard in the offseason, someone like Dalton Risner who just joined the Minnesota Vikings. Similarly, they could've used a draft pick on an offensive guard. O'Cyrus Torrence went to the Buffalo Bills in Round 2 and Jacksonville could've gotten him if they wanted to. Instead, they rolled with the same group from last year.
In retrospect, this decision doesn't look great but it shouldn't be a cause for concern yet. As noted before, neither Scherff nor Fortner were 100 percent versus the Chiefs. Furthermore, Bartch did fine in the opener. On the off chance they continue to struggle, the Jaguars could then decide to make a few moves. Coincidentally, they'll get Cam Robinson back from a suspension after Week 4 and Cooper Hodges will be eligible to return after starting the season on Injured Reserve.
The Jaguars could move Walker Little — the sole bright spot in the offensive trenches — to left guard, plug Robinson in at left tackle, and insert Hodges at right guard. That said, those moves won't be necessary if the current group manages to bounce back in the upcoming weeks.
3. The Jaguars chose to draft Anton Harrison to replace Jawaan Taylor
The top brass made a huge effort to keep most of last year's core in place. Besides locking up tight end Evan Engram, they either gave new deals or brought back several key contributors including, but not limited to, Roy Robertson-Harris, DaVon Hamilton, Andrew Wingard, JaMycal Hasty, and Tre Herndon. Surprisingly, they chose right tackle Jawaan Taylor, along with defensive tackle Arden Key, to walk in free agency.
It's true that Jacksonville made Taylor an offer but they also braced themselves to the possibility of losing him because he was projected to command top-market money in free agency. In the end, the former Florida Gator ended up joining the Kansas City Chiefs. To fill the void at right tackle, the Jags drafted Anton Harrison 27th overall.
Right off the bat, the Jaguars' decision-makers made it known that Harrison would be switching to right tackle despite the fact that he had mostly lined up on the left side at Oklahoma. So far, the returns haven't been great.
The past two games, Harrison has given up five pressures and five sacks. He acknowledged that going against Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones was his welcome to the NFL moment. However, it's too early to say he won't thrive in the pros. It's easy to forget now but it took Jawaan Taylor three seasons to finally put it all together. Heck, Jones himself says that Harrison will be just fine.
The bottom line is that players' readiness is always variable coming out of college and Harrison isn't just making the adjustment to the pros but he's doing so while switching positions. He should make strides in the upcoming weeks.
2. The Jaguars chose not to bolster their pass rush in the offseason
There was arguably no bigger need for the Jaguars in the offseason than the pass rush. Sure, they had Josh Allen and Travon Walker but they seemingly needed someone else to round out their rotations. Once head coach Doug Pederson announced that player K'Lavon Chaisson, a 2020 first-round pick, was going to be that player, some fans started to get fidgety and with good reason.
Chaisson was underwhelming in his first three NFL seasons, registering a measly three sacks. While taking the quarterback down is the only way to measure a pass rusher's success, the former LSU Tiger has not been able to consistently bring pressure up front. In fact, his lack of impact was reflected in his reduced playing time the last two years.
However, Chaisson registered his first sack of the season in Week 2. He also spent lots of time on the ground but showed that maybe there's hope. Then again, the Jaguars could've brought a proven pass rusher. There were plenty available throughout the offseason but opted not to pursue any of them.
The Jags were at some point interested in Jadeveon Clowney and Yannick Ngakoue but instead opted to re-sign Dawuane Smoot. The issue is that Smoot can't contribute right now. He's currently recovering from an Achilles tear he suffered last year and will be probably back in early October.
Once Smoot returns and barring injury to either Allen, and Walker, the rotation be at full strength.
1. Jaguars HC Doug Pederson giving Press Taylor the keys to the offense
The news that head coach Doug Pederson was giving offensive coordinator Press Taylor full control of the offense on game day hasn't been well received. Granted, it was reported just hours before the opener but it had been in the works for a while.
On paper, the decision made sense and it seemed like the logical next step when you take into account that Taylor took over playcalling during second halves at times last year. However, his play selection came into question when the Jaguars only managed to score nine points against the Chiefs despite the fact that they had Trevor Lawrence under center and had a wide array of weapons.
Here's the thing, Taylor may have been able to choose better plays but the truth is that there are many reasons the offense failed to reach the end zone in Week 2. Trevor Lawrence's accuracy was off. Zay Jones couldn't get both feet in bounds in red-zone targets. Add the offensive line's inability to open lanes or give Lawrence enough time to throw and there's plenty of blame to go around.
It's also worth noting that nobody was complaining when Taylor called the plays that gave the Jaguars the win over the Baltimore Ravens last year. There are many good games he called and he'll also have a few bad ones, so even if he wasn't great in Week 2, he shouldn't give playcalling duties back to Pederson just yet.
The bottom line is that Taylor may need a bit of time to get fully acclimated to his newly added responsibilities but he showed last year that he's up to the task. Expect him to have a strong grasp as the season progresses and for the offense to put lots of points on the scoreboard in the upcoming weeks.