The Jacksonville Jaguars were just minutes away from the Super Bowl a year ago and had nearly the entire roster returning, yet somehow managed to stumble to a 5-11 record in 2018.
Injuries, a slight regression on defense and awful quarterback play led to the surprising decline. All of the issues appear to be relatively easy fixes however, so the team should still approach this offseason as though they’re contenders.
In fact, it’s hard to even come up with four glaring issues that need to be addressnzed on the roster. If they can just stay healthy and solve the No. 1 issue on this list, Jacksonville should be playing meaningful games in January 2020.
Quarterback
After five years of attempting to develop Blake Bortles, it appears as though the Jaguars are throwing in the towel. By benching him for Cody Kessler—a perfectly fine backup, who excels at protecting the ball—it signaled a desire to finally rid the team of Bortles’ constant mistakes.
Bortles is the classic example of a quarterback who has all the physical tools needed to succeed, but he just doesn’t process the game fast enough to make good decisions. Even in a clean pocket, Bortles has been unable to avoid mistakes, finishing with 3.3 percent interception rate this past season, the third worst mark in the league.
Jacksonville still has a defense capable of carrying the team deep into the playoffs, so the smart move may be to sign or trade for a veteran free agent. That wouldn’t necessarily rule out the possibility of them drafting a quarterback, however, especially on Day 2.
Right Guard/Right Tackle
In addition to replacing Bortles, the Jaguars can upgrade their passing game by improving the offensive line.
Cam Robinson, coming off a torn ACL, will return to left tackle and Andrew Norwell is locked in at left guard. Brandon Linder is also under contract through 2022 and will return at center. The right side of the offensive line, however, has the potential for change.
A.J. Cann struggled at right guard and is an unrestricted free agent. According to Sports Info Solution, he ranked 35th out of 48 guards in adjusted blown block rate.
Right tackle Jeremy Parnell is still under contract, but has no guaranteed money remaining on the deal. He’s a strong candidate to be cut at some point this offseason to free up some cap space.
Tight End
Ben Koyack, who has 24 receptions in three years, is the Jaguars only tight end under contract.
Even with James O’Shaughnessy and Austin Seferian-Jenkins on the roster in 2018, Jacksonville picked up just 15.4 percent of its passing yards with tight ends, the fifth lowest percentage in the league.
This is a talented draft class at the tight end position, and the Jaguars should strongly consider adding a new weapon to the offense in the second or third round.
Cornerback/Safety
The Jaguars return their entire defense with the exception of cornerback Tyler Patmon, who saw limited action in a reserve role, making just a few spot starts. So there aren’t any obvious holes on the defensive side of the ball that need to be filled immediately. However, with so many rookie contracts on the offensive side of the ball, Jacksonville has been spending freely on the defensive side, and that’s about to catch up with them.
According to Spotrac, the Jaguars have $45M wrapped up in the secondary this season, the most expensive position group on the roster. That’s fine for now, but if they don’t plan ahead, they’ll go through some growing pains in 2020 and 2021.
Jalen Ramsey is due for a significant pay increase in 2020 when the team picks up his fifth-year team option, and then an even bigger raise the following season when he hits free agency. If they’re going to re-sign Ramsey, that likely means parting with some of the other expensive pieces of the secondary such as A.J. Bouye or D.J. Hayden.
Jacksonville would be wise to add some rookie contracts to the defense now, so they can start developing some cheaper players in the secondary now so that they can transition away from their high-priced defense.
