The AFC South has changed just a wee bit over the past month since the start of the new league year. Let's take a look at HOW drastic those changes have been, starting with the Jacksonville Jaguars. I'll do this for each AFC South team in my Daily Brews the next few weeks.
Front Office/Head coaching change
HBC Doug Pederson
Offensive player addition
WR Christian Kirk
WR Zay Jones
TE Evan Engram
OG Brandon Scherff (5x Pro Bowler, 1x All-Pro)
Defensive player additions
NT Foley Fatukasi
MLB Foye Oluokun
CB Darious Williams
DE Arden Key
Key losses
ILB Myles Jack (cap casualty)
C Brandon Linder
Franchised
LT Cam Robinson (again)
Projected Offensive Starting Lineup (Bold/Italics - new to the team in 2022)
QB - Trevor Lawrence
RB - James Robinson/Travis Etienne
WR - Christian Kirk
WR - Zay Jones
WR - Marvin Jones
TE - Evan Engram/Dan Arnold
LT - Cam Robinson
LG - Ben Bartch
C - Tyler Shatley
|RG - Brandon Scherff
RT - Jawaan Taylor
Projected Defensive Starting Lineup (Bold/Italics - new to the team in 2022)
DE - Roy Robertson-Harris
NT - Foley Fatukasi
DT - Malcolm Brown
DE - Josh Allen
MLB - Foye Oluokun
WLB - Shaq Quarterman
SLB - K'Lavon Chiasson
CB - Darious Williams
S - Rayshawn Jenkins
S - Andre Cisco
CB - Tyson Campbell
Jaguars Draft Situation (as it stands less than two weeks from the Draft)
1st round -1st overall
2nd round - 33rd overall
3rd round - 65th overall
3rd round - 70th overall
4th round - 106th overall
5th round - 157th overall
6th round - 180th overall
6th round - 188th overall
6th round - 198th overall
6th round - 199th overall
7th round - 223rd overall
7th round - 236th overall
Jaguars Draft needs (in no particular order)
- A twitchy defensive edge presence opposite Josh Allen - K'Lavon Chiasson might be a man without a position as new defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell takes over. It's not as if Chiasson has reached up and snatched away a starting spot with his play, though. He's been underwhelming after being a first-round pick in 2020. Either way, the Jaguars have plenty of options at number one at that position.
- Center - Tyler Shatley has played plenty over the years in place of Brandon Linder and they can feel confident with a veteran on the roster. However, they can certainly upgrade in this center draft class.
- Y-TE - The Jaguars need "a hand in the dirt and knock someone around" type. Engram and Arnold will catch everything under the sun in the passing game, but the Jaguars need to find a left, left tackle type who doesn't need to catch anything.
- Safety - I could see the Jaguars attacking the safety position early in the draft. Not pick number one overall early, but with either 33, 65 or 70.
- Offensive tackle - This is a little bit messy, so to speak, and a bit complicated. Current starting LT Cam Robinson was franchised again this offseason, so either this is the year he proves it and stays long-term, or the Jaguars need to move on after the season. RT Jawaan Taylor wasn't franchised but he's in the last year of his rookie deal. If Robinson and Taylor perform well, they'll get extended and 2020 2nd round selection Walker Little can back them up for a while. But, BUT, my gut tells me that at least one of those starters won't be around in 2023, not to mention the fact that Little hasn't quite proven he's ready to handle either of those spots.
- Stack/off the ball linebacker - Signing Foye Oluokun was a major coup, but there isn't a ton around him after Myles Jack was waived as a cap casualty.
OVERALL
I've seen plenty of pundits eyeing the Jacksonville Jaguars as a surprise team in 2022 and the main reason is the marriage of 2021 1st overall Trevor Lawrence and head coach Doug Pederson. Those experts will be 1000% correct if Lawrence takes a massive step in his development under the former Super Bowl winning coach. The Jaguars certainly won March with the signings on offense, in particular, but they've got plenty of Offseason winning trophies from previous years', uh, wins. A free agent splurge paid off handsomely just once in 2017. But, that team is completely gone and it's up to Pederson and Lawrence to resurrect this franchise. No pressure at all, guys, then again, if I had to bet on a pairing to take on that task, it'd be these two.
2022 Ticketing Information
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