Roster And Draft Class Breakdown: Jacksonville Jaguars

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The Jacksonville Jaguars have two thing they didn’t have last year, a vision and a coach who knows what the heck he’s doing. The Urban Meyer fiasco set the franchise back at least a year. That can be especially dangerous with a young quarterback. Doug Pederson won a Superbowl with the Eagles. As a former QB himself, he knows how to get the best out of his signal callers. Can coaching be the difference? Can the Jags take strides in the right direction? Let’s break it all down.

Offense

Trevor Lawrence learned pretty quick that things won’t come as easy to him as they did at Clemson. That being said, he is still a great talent and he is the future of the franchise. He needs some help though. His running mate Travis Etienne is back after missing his rookie year. Etienne was drafted with Lawrence from Clemson in the first round but got hurt in the final preseason game. The plan at first was to use him more as hybrid since he is good as a ball career and pass catcher. Etienne became the all time leading rusher in the ACC and played with Lawrence his entire college career. It will be interesting to see the competition between he and James Robinson to become the starting running back. Snoop Connor is also making his way to Duval by way of the fifth round from Ole Miss. He was part of a backfield tandem with Jerrion Ealy in college. Connor is a good in short yardage and has a ton of power. He got in the endzone 13 times in his final year at Ole Miss.

The Jags pulled out all the stops to get Lawrence some help. This is the second offseason in a row that Shad Khan dished out a ton of money to bring in free agents. Receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones were signed to join Marvin Jones. Jacksonville also signed tight end Evan Engram to a one year prove it deal. Engram never found his footing with the Giants and had some drops.

The offensive line is a mostly young unit that added Luke Fortner in round three from Kentucky. He automatically slides in to be the starting center. Cam Robinson, Ben Bartch, the elder statesman Brandon Scherff, and Jawaan Taylor make up the rest of the line. The Jags line ranked 20th in the NFL last season.

Defense

The defense once again had some major additions as they run the 3-4. Newcomers Folorunso Fatuski and Roy Robertson-Harris flank the nose tackle DaVon Hamilton. The linebacker core may be the best in the AFC South which added two first round picks. Travon Walker was the first overall pick from Georgia. This is the second year in a row they had that luxury. He was listed as a defensive end, but is on the depth chart now as the starting strong side linebacker. Devion Lloyd was also a first round pick from Utah. Lloyd is a freak of an athlete who mostly plays inside, but can also play outside and as a DB. He had 15.5 sacks and five picks in his time at Utah. He will be paired with Foyesade Oluokun who comes over from Atlanta. Oluokun went to Yale and was arguably the best LB on the team. Walker will have fellow former SEC first rounder Josh Allen opposite him. One more linebacker to highlight, inside backer Chad Muma from Wyoming. He was a third round pick. His speed should help cause more havok. It looks like he’ll be a subpackage guy to start. In some subpackages, maybe Lloyd will move to the outside to allow him to get on the field.

The secondary looks good overall. Darious Williams comes home after winning a superbowl with the Rams to team up Shaquill Griffin. The last two picks of the Jags draft were corners. Gregory Junior was a sixth round pick and became the first player drafted from Ouachita Baptist. He runs a 4.45 40 yard dash but will have to start on special teams. It’s the same story with seventh round pick Montaric Brown from Arkansas. He is an option in the return game as well as at safety. Speaking of safeties, Rayshawn Jenkins and Andrew Wingard get the starting nod there. All draft pick information and depth charts came from ESPN.

Draft Misses

Don’t get me wrong, this is a much improved roster from last season. If there was an award for that, the Jags would probably get it. With that being said, there are still some issues. I get not drafting a receiver due to spending a lot of money there, but there is no clear cut top option. Right now it’s a bunch of second or third options. Tight end as well - Engram has not been that good and the depth behind him is okay, but nothing special. Safety is also a bit of a red flag. Jenkins is a strong safety and only has 1.5 sacks. Having a safety type like Derwin James and Jamal Adams could take the defense to the next level. Finally, they should have drafted a kicker instead of taking a chance on a 26 year old rookie.

Projection As Of Right Now

The AFC South will be this year’s garbage division. I feel the Texans and the Jaguars have the best chance to win the division. The big question is can Jacksonville compete right away, or will it take a year or two. I don’t think Jacksonville is quite there yet in terms of being ready to take the division over. Best case scenario they sneak in as a wildcard team, but with a loaded AFC that may not be attainable at this time.

We’ll check in the Florida Panthers and and continue the breakdowns.