Offense 

This Jaguars offense looks to be building in a new direction with new coaching and a few big additions that should leave their imprint on this underperforming but talented roster that’s been waiting to find stable success for years now. 

An obvious starting point but a controversial one is the QB situation and what they actually have here with Trevor Lawrence. While I’ll admit Lawrence hasn’t lived up to the expectations people put on him coming out of college it’s also been a rocky road through his first years in the league. Filled with bad coaching and dysfunction throughout the organization it’s hard for any player to succeed in that type of environment let alone a QB that is expected to save a franchise from mediocrity or worse play. All things considered I think Lawrence has been a success for this franchise and him being a league average and above starter consistently is a win considering all the factors surrounding him. Lawrence isn’t perfect and has some flaws to his game he needs to clean up but now that he has what seems to be a more stable situation surrounding him organizationally, a better supporting cast, and maybe more importantly than all a young offensive minded HC in Liam Coen there’s no batter chance than now for him to have a breakout season. 

The next piece of this offense that really stands out and may be what separates this team from others is the WR room they’ve built here. While the depth could use some work with Parker Washington really being the only option I trust off the bench the top three guys being Brian Thomas Jr, Dyami Brown, and the newly acquired Travis Hunter (Colorado) is absolutely awesome. Thomas Jr showed just how special of a WR he is last season and I thought really developed into a number one guy throughout last year and then you add Brown who to be fair has been up and down throughout his career but when put into a well coached offense and given a quality QB turned into a really dynamic threat as flanker WR for the Commanders last season and then Hunter as well who is one of the most unique prospects to ever come out of the draft, obviously known for playing both sides of the ball but purely as a WR has some of the most special ball skills and body control I’ve ever seen someone have. This group is young, athletic, and incredibly dynamic and should be one of the better groups in the league and provide Lawrence and Coen really effective pieces to get the ball to in number of different ways. 

The RB room has been fairly disappointing the last few years with Travis Etienne Jr not developing much at all and really being nothing more than a solid option as a pass catcher out of the backfield and Tank Bigsby being solid league average runner at best but not providing much explosiveness or anything too special to the offense. Because of the lack of high end impact in this room they went and drafted two backs that I think could play a big role this coming year in Bhayshul Tuten (Virginia Tech) and LeQuint Allen (Syracuse). Tuten has electrifying speed and when he gets touches to the outside pays them off more often than not but could use some improvement when running between the tackles with his patience and vision as a runner. Allen while only being a 7th Round pick showed real production at Syracuse and as runner may not have the explosiveness/speed that Tuten has but he’s got great feet, solid balance through contact, and runs patient but determined which allows him to be consistent in between the tackles. Allen also provides a solid pair of hands out of the backfield and the best part is his ability to pass protect on a consistent basis which should give him a really good chance of sticking around on the roster. 

As far as this OL room goes there’s a lot of guys but few solidified answers here. At T you have Walker Little and Anton Harrison with Little being the more sure thing and should be the LT for this team for the seeable future and Harrison who’s had an up and down career so far but has a lot of talent and should be the locked in starter for this year. As for the IOL it’s mix and match of players that have been here, FA additions, and draft picks that should yield a solid group by the end of camp but certainly isn’t ideal. Ezra Cleveland is a solid G and should be the one locked in starter for you along the IOL but after that you have Patrick Mekari, Chuma Edoga, and Wyatt Milum (West Virginia) all competing for the opposite G spot with Mekari being the favorite to win the starting job as he’s been a solid depth/swing player throughout his career but Milum absolutely has the talent to push for the job if he can clean up his pad level and become more refined as a technician as he lacks high end athletic/measurable traits coming into the league. As for the C position this team signed Robert Hainsey, drafted Jonah Monheim, and had Luke Fortner already on roster. While Hainsey and Fortner are fine and serviceable Cs I think Monheim could push for this starting spot despite him being a 7th Round pick. Monheim can get pushed around by power and certainly lacks athletic traits that you see and look for in high end Cs but he fights and shows a real effort snap after snap and has real starting experience at a number of positions along the OL. More than likely the job will go to Hainsey or Fortner but I wouldn’t be shocked if Monheim makes it hard on this coaching staff to not play him.

Defense 

Defensively this roster really hasn’t changed much from the last regime but I like the additions they made to fill out some weak spots. 

I think the conversation with this side of the ball has to start with the secondary. While they may not be the flashiest signings I really like the veteran additions of Eric Murray and Jourdan Lewis who should give this team solid options at S and Nickel CB and also provide this back end of the defense with some veteran experience that they haven’t really had here. They also added Caleb Ransaw (Tulane) out of the draft who was one of my favorite prospects coming out this year. Ransaw flies around the field and is a great athlete, so much so that Tulane had him rolling from a blitz look in the slot back into a deep S look at the snap. He’s such a fun player in the slot as he attacks runs like a LB and has real speed and competitiveness to compete with just about anyone out of the slot and should provide them with a fun dime look between him and Jourdan Lewis. I expect Ransaw to take over the role of Nickel/In the Box S that Darnell Savage played last year and is slotted to this year pretty quickly if not immediately in Week 1. Then we have the elephant in the room of Travis Hunter and what he’s going to provide them if they want/allow him to play both sides of the ball. Once again Hunter is incredible from a ball skills and body control standpoint but his coverage ability doesn’t fall far behind those traits either. If he’s on the field on a regular basis for them defensively the pairing of him and Tyson Campbell should be incredibly fun to watch and provide this team with a unique and talented CB group. Overall I would like to see a bit more depth here and maybe add a veteran that could provide you with capable depth play but overall it’s a solid secondary that should more competent week to week than it was last season.  

As for this front seven it’s largely the same group of guys with Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker off the Edge, Arik Armstead, Maason Smith, and Davon Hamilton along the IDL, and Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd at ILB. While this is a solid group guys they’ve been inconsistent throughout the years and hopefully with a new regime and DC Anthony Campanile coming in they can find a bit more consistency and be more productive as they have the talent to do so. As for additions they added Jack Kiser (Notre Dame) to ILB room and Jalen McLeod (Auburn) as Edge/OLB hybrid guy through the draft and while neither guy do I expect to play huge role in year one I could see being solid depth pieces moving forward for them. They also added Emmanuel Ogbah, Duwuane Smoot, and Dennis Gardeck as vet Edge guys but I don’t expect them to be much more than role players in the short here. Ultimately with this group it’s going to come down to how much more this new coaching staff can get out of them as there’s a good amount of solid talent here and even high end talent as well with Hines-Allen being one of the most underrated players in the league but they’ve failed to consistently show that talent on a week to week basis.

Overview 

• There’s a lot of change happening in Jacksonville and it finally feels like there’s a positive shift happening in that building. From a new young up and coming GM to an innovative offensive minded HC there’s a lot to be positive and hopeful about here but it’s far from a sure thing. Whether or not it’ll all work out is yet to be seen but I can say I certainly have more hope and optimism for this Jaguars organization than I have in many years. This team has the talent to compete right now for a playoff spot and while I’m not expecting that I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a quicker turnaround than expected from this organization. Ultimately I think this team ends up around 7-9 wins and falls a bit short of those playoff hopes but if you’re a Jaguars’ fan I would expect to be far more optimistic than you have in many years after this season.