Top 3 Offseason Needs: Jacksonville Jaguars

In advance of March 9, the start of free agency in the NFL, Pro Football Rumors will detail each team’s three most glaring roster issues. We’ll continue this year’s series with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who failed to live up to their preseason sleeper status and finished with a 3-13 record.

Depth Chart (via Roster Resource)

Pending Free Agents:

• Tyson Alualu, DE
• Prince Amukamara, CB
• Joe Banyard, RB (RFA)
• Arrelious Benn, WR
• Jonathan Cyprien, S
• Jordan Hill, DT
• Luke Joeckel, OL
• Abry Jones, DT
• Patrick Omameh, G
• Denard Robinson, RB
• Tyler Shatley, C (RFA)
• Peyton Thompson, S (ERFA)
• Bryan Walters, WR
• Josh Wells, T (RFA)

Top 10 Cap Hits for 2017:

1. Malik Jackson, DL: $15,500,000
2. Kelvin Beachum, T: $8,500,000
3. Jared Odrick, DL: $8,500,000
4. Julius Thomas, TE: $8,300,000
5. Allen Hurns, WR: $7,000,000
6. Blake Bortles, QB: $6,571,983
7. Jermey Parnell, T: $6,500,000
8. Dante Fowler Jr., DE: $6,406,429
9. Tashaun Gipson, S: $6,300,000
10. Davon House, CB: $6,000,000

Other:

• Projected cap space (via Over the Cap): $64,357,959
• Fourth pick in draft
• Must exercise or decline 2018 fifth-year option for QB Blake Bortles

Top Three Needs:

1) Bolster the offensive line: Blake Bortles isn’t going anywhere. That seems readily apparent based on comments from Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell, who believes his club can win a Super Bowl with Bortles under center, and new executive vice president Tom Coughlin, who headed off complaints about the fourth-year pro by saying “Blake Bortles is our quarterback.” Jacksonville could certainly draft another signal-caller or add a low-tier veteran such as Brian Hoyer or Josh McCown this offseason, but it’s fair to assume that Bortles — who reportedly dealt with shoulder and wrist injuries throughout the year — will return as the Jaguars’ starter.

With the club unlikely to change quarterbacks, Jacksonville will have to look to other avenues to improve an offense that ranked just 27th in DVOA. Having already fired head coach Gus Bradley and offensive coordinator Greg Olson, the Jaguars have formally installed Doug Marrone and Nathaniel Hackett in those respective roles with the hope the two offensive minds will be able to overhaul their offensive unit. With Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, Marqise Lee, T.J. Yeldon, Chris Ivory, and Julius Thomas in tow, Jacksonville’s skill positions don’t need to be immediately addressed. That leaves the offensive line as an obvious area of focus for the Jaguars in the coming weeks.

While the Jags have all offseason to repair their front five, they do face one immediate decision that will affect their plans for the offensive line as a whole. Jacksonville has until February 15 to exercise or decline a $5MM option bonus on left tackle Kelvin Beachum. If the Jaguars pick up the option, Beachum would be guaranteed an additional $13MM in base salary, making it extremely difficult for the club to release him at any point during the next two seasons. The 27-year-old Beachum wasn’t very effective in 2016 as he continued to recover from an ACL injury suffered the year prior, grading as the league’s No. 63 tackle among 78 qualifiers per Pro Football Focus, but he was an elite blindside protector for the Steelers before going down with that knee issue.

The ideal course of action for the Jaguars would entail the club declining the option, and subsequently working out a new, more team-friendly deal that includes less guaranteed money. The problem, however, is that the left tackle market is already barren, meaning a) Beachum could garner significant interest from around the NFL and potentially price himself out of Jacksonville’s range, and b) if a new pact can’t be agreed to, the Jaguars would have limited options to replace Beachum.

Andrew Whitworth and Riley Reiff are the only two reliable left tackles available on the free agent market, and even Reiff has flaws given that he was shifted to right tackle for the 2016 campaign. Otherwise, the Jaguars would be looking at subpar options such as Matt Kalil, Mike Remmers, or Will Beatty, none of whom would represent an upgrade over Beachum. In the draft, the top offensive tackle prospects — Alabama’s Cam Robinson, Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk, and Utah’s Garett Bolles — are considered mid-to-late first-round picks, and would be reaches at fourth overall.

After assessing the alternatives, the Jaguars may simply exercise their option on Beachum and lock in their starting left tackle for the next couple of seasons, and instead turn their attention to addressing the interior of the offensive line. Center is well-handled by Brandon Linder, but Jacksonville could use at least one, and potentially two, new starting guards, depending on how the club views A.J. Cann, who played every offensive snap in 2016 and graded as PFF’s No. 48 guard among 72 qualifiers.

Unlike tackle, the free agent guard market is flush with talent, and the Jaguars could spend some of their ample cap space on a top-flight lineman such as Kevin Zeitler or T.J. Lang, each of whom are right guards and would likely force Cann to shift to the left side. Zeitler and Lang could each command north of $10MM per year, but cheaper options such as Larry Warford, J.C. Tretter, and Ronald Leary should also be available. Former second overall pick Luke Joeckel could return, but it’s difficult to imagine the Jaguars handing him a starting job.

2) Add to the defensive front: The Jaguars certainly haven’t been shy about investing in their defensive line during the past few offseasons, as they’ve signed or drafted Malik Jackson, Jared Odrick, Dante Fowler Jr., Yannick Ngakoue, Sheldon Day, Michael Bennett, and Jonathan Woodard since 2015. But the unit, which ranked 19th in sacks and 17th in adjusted sack rate, will likely see a good deal of overhaul before the 2017 campaign gets underway, as Odrick and Roy Miller look like clear release candidates, while contributors Abry Jones and Tyson Alualu are unrestricted free agents.

Jones, 25, didn’t generate any sacks from the interior last year, but he did perform well against the run and graded as the NFL’s No. 21 defensive tackle per PFF. Jacksonville clearly values him, as the club placed a second-round restricted free agent tender worth $2.553MM on Jones prior to last season. He’s worth at least that amount as a free agent, and could see his salary tick up into the $3-4MM range. Odrick and Miller, meanwhile, are scheduled to count for more than $12.5MM on the Jaguars’ 2017 salary cap, an untenable total given the duo played a combined 417 snaps last season. Because Jacksonville rarely employs extravagant signing bonuses, Odrick and Miller’s dead money charges would amount to pocket change.

Even if they cut bait with some of their overpaid defenders, the Jaguars will still have a good group of lineman up front, but another body — preferably, a player with the versatility to move between tackle and end — would be ideal. Luckily for Jacksonville, that prospect exists in the former of Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, whom many mock drafts, including that of Rotoworld’s Josh Norris, have sent to the Jags at pick No. 4. In his ranking of the draft’s top 50 players, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com says Allen — whom ranks fifth overall — has “very strong, violent hands and he generates a lot of push with his bull rush,” but noted that Allen is more of a complete defender than a straight pass-rusher.

Allen isn’t the only defensive lineman who could be available to Jacksonville, and though it’s unlikely, a scenario does exist where the Jaguars could have a shot at Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett, who is universally ranked as the draft’s top player. Each of the three teams selecting ahead of the Jaguars — Cleveland, San Francisco, and Chicago — could use a quarterback, so if signal-callers come off the board at pick Nos. 1, 2, and 3, Garrett could be there for Jacksonville.

Again, that situation is pretty implausible, but the Jags could instead be interested in Solomon Thomas (Stanford), Taco Charlton (Michigan), or Derek Barnett (Tennessee), either at fourth overall or later in the round following a trade down. Clemson’s Carlos Watkins could also be on the table given that new Jacksonville defensive line coach Marion Hobby spent the past six seasons with the Tigers.

Coaching connections could factor into the Jaguars’ free agent (or trade) pursuits, as well. Jacksonville recently hired Mark Collins — who spent the past two years coaching the Jets’ outside linebackers — as its new LBs coach, and his familiarity with DL/LB Sheldon Richardson could potentially lead to trade speculation. The Jaguars weren’t among the clubs that expressed interest in Richardson last season, and although New York reportedly asked for a first-round pick in exchange for its mercurial pass rusher, that price tag could have since softened. If the Jets are now willing to accept, say, an early third-rounder for Richardson, a deal could make some sense.

Free agency offers a variety of line options depending on what the Jaguars are looking for. If the club wants a big body to stick in the middle of the defense and play next to Jackson, Johnathan Hankins, Brandon Williams, and Bennie Logan will be available. Interior rushing free agents include Nick Fairley and Charles Johnson, while the list of edge rushers on the market includes Melvin Ingram, Jabaal Sheard, or, if Jacksonville is willing to break the bank, Jason Pierre-Paul. Veteran defender Chris Baker stands out as a possible target, as well, given that new Jags coach Perry Fewell was with the Redskins for the past two years.

3) Figure out who’s playing opposite Jalen Ramsey: Jacksonville’s pass defense was among its better attributes in 2016, as the club ranked fifth in passing yards allowed and 16th in both opponent quarterback rating and pass defense DVOA. Jalen Ramsey fell into the Jaguars’ lap at pick No. 5, and proceeded to play like a shutdown cornerback for much of the season, while free agent signee Prince Amukamara produced dividends after signing a one-year, $5.5MM contract.

The Jaguars figure to see some changes in the secondary, however, as Amukamara is now a pending free agent. Entering his age-28 season, and coming off a campaign in which he graded out as an above-average corner per PFF, Amukamara is probably looking at his last chance to land a hefty free agent contract. A three- or four-year deal at $7MM per season isn’t out the question, and it’s unclear if Jacksonville would be willing to meet that demand. Elsewhere, 2015 free agent addition Davon House appears to be an obvious release candidate given his $6MM cap charges in 2017-18 and his limited playing time (25% of snaps) in 2016.

If Amukamara doesn’t return, Jacksonville needs to find a defender to play opposite Ramsey, and it doesn’t figure to spend much money on the position given that it’s already investing ample funds along the defensive line, at linebacker, and at safety. If they’re searching for bargains on the free agent market, the Jaguars won’t be in the running for the available elite corners, a list that includes Trumaine Johnson, A.J. Bouye, and Stephon Gilmore. Cowboys cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr could both be on the Jags’ radar depending on cost, while the club could also take a shot on veteran Sam Shields, whom the Packers earlier this week. Marcus Cooper, Leodis McKelvin, and Coty Sensabaugh represent options even further down the free agent rankings.

The Jaguars don’t seem likely to use a high first-round pick for the second consecutive season, but Ohio State’s Marshon Lattimore could conceivably be a fit at fourth overall. The second round is a more probable area for Jacksonville to expend resources on its secondary, and given that defensive backs are plentiful in this year’s draft, the Jags should be able to find a decent corner. After Lattimore, Teez Tabor (Florida), Tre’Davious White (LSU), Sidney Jones (Washington), Quincy Wilson (Florida), and Marlon Humphrey (Alabama) rank as the next-best options in the seconday, according to Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com, and at least one of those prospects figures to fall to the part of Day 2.

Safety could also be a concern for Jacksonville this offseason, as fourth-year pro Jonathan Cyprien broke out just in time for free agency, grading as the league’s No. 7 safety per PFF. The 26-year-old figures to be one of the more attractive safeties on the open market, joining a free agent class that also includes the likes of Eric Berry, Tony Jefferson, and Barry Church. The Jaguars should make an effort to extend him, but if that fails, Donte Whitner and/or Duke Ihenacho could be options given that new Jacksonville secondary coach Perry Fewell worked with the pair in Washington last year. Adding a safety early in the draft is also a possibility, and Todd McShay of ESPN.com recently mocked LSU’s Jamal Adams to the Jaguars at fourth overall.