Coaching decision comes back to haunt Jaguars in NFL offense rankings

Based on talent level alone, the Jacksonville Jaguars have the potential to field a top-10 offense in 2024. However, they earned a surprisingly low spot in a recent ranking due to a decision head coach Doug Pederson made last year.

Jared Dubin of CBS Sports ranked every NFL team's offensive infrastructure by tiers and put Jacksonville at No. 21. He argues that naming offensive coordinator Press Taylor the playcaller full-time is holding the offense back. Moreover, he believes losing Calvin Ridley gives the Arizona Cardinals, who landed at No. 20, an edge over the Jags.

" The Jaguars might be in front of the Cardinals if not for the fact that Doug Pederson keeps trying to make Press Taylor happen. Drew Petzing is a significant advantage for Arizona in that area, and that, plus the Cards adding Marvin Harrison Jr. while the Jags lost Ridley and replaced him with Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr., was enough to push Arizona ahead despite our giving Trevor Lawrence the nod over Kyler Murray."

To his credit, Dubin believes Trevor Lawrence is a better quarterback than Kyler Murray. That said, it was still puzzling to see the Jaguars get such a low spot and be lumped with teams such as the Tennessee Titans (22), the New Orleans Saints (23), the Washington Commanders (26), and even the New York Giants (27). Yikes! It's also worth noting that Tier 5 is the third-lowest in Dubin's ranking.

So why does naming Taylor hurt Jacksonville's place in the ranking? He was named offensive playcaller full-time before the 2023 season. The year before, he called the offense in the second half of several games, including the comeback win against the Baltimore Ravens. However, the Jags suffered a decline with Taylor at the helm last year.

While the offense got off to a positive start last year, they faded down the stretch. One reason was that Taylor failed to adjust when injuries struck the team. Furthermore, the offensive line couldn't open holes in the running game, which made the offense one-dimensional. In his defense, Trevor Lawrence was hampered by injuries in the second half, and the inability to block made it nearly impossible to establish the run.

After 2023 Pederson said that he was pleased with Taylor's performance, noting that he could improve but did well for a first-time playcaller. Back in March, the head coach said that he had been considering taking over playcalling duty again. More recently he said he hasn't made a decision since there's still plenty of time before the season starts.

The Jaguars can bounce back even with Press Taylor calling the shots

Even after their late-season collapse, the Jaguars ranked 13th in points scored last year. When you factor in the injuries they dealt with to end the season, there's a reason to believe they'll get much better than No. 21 in the league even if Taylor retains playcalling duty. Having said that, he and the rest of the coaching staff must do a better job of developing players.

Injuries exposed the team's dearth of depth last year. When Zay Jones and Christian Kirk sat out games, nobody stepped up in their place. That falls on the coaching staff for not developing players and the front office for not bringing in enough difference-makers. On the bright side, it looks like the Jaguars brought enough depth and talent in the offseason to avoid another meltdown.

Last year, the Jaguars might've pressed Lawrence into action even though he wasn't 100 percent because they weren't confident C.J. Beathard was going to be able to win games. To remedy that, they traded for 2021 first-round pick Mac Jones in the offseason.

Also, the team's brass made reinforcements across the offensive line. If that wasn't enough, they're looking for options to bolster the depth at wide receiver. That includes signing five undrafted free agents and bringing in veteran Jarvis Landry for a tryout.

The bottom line is that the Jacksonville Jaguars need to prove they can score points and win games before they can get a higher place in power rankings, even the ones solely devoted to the offensive side of the ball. Working on the favor is that they have the talent to make it happen.

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