Jacksonville Jaguars 2017 Off-Season Needs
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2016 Season Recap
The Jaguars disappointed in their 2016 campaign, as they failed to follow-up their promising performance in the season prior. They finished the year 3-13, with Blake Bortles regressing in production, including passing yards (4,428 to 3,905) and touchdowns (35 to 23).
That, of course, resulted in his receivers, Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, also having down years. Both averaged less yards per game and yards per reception from last year.
It continues with the running game. Chris Ivory and TJ Yeldon did minimal damage, as the pair similarly produced awful numbers – both were under 40 rushing YPG and four rushing YPG. Bortles, who isn’t known to be a mobile QB, was the team’s third-best rusher (359 yards, 6.2 YPC).
The area they performed the best is stopping the pass. Through the great rookie year of Jalen Ramsey, they finished ranking fifth in passing yards allowed (215.2 per game) and passing touchdowns allowed (20).
Top Free Agency Needs
The offense has shown their great abilities in the past and should be given a chance to redeem themselves. It could be better for them to continue piling up the defense with quality guys.
Ramsey and the secondary should improve moving forward, and adding another piece to that core could be good. The best defensive backs they may want to recruit are Eric Berry, AJ Bouye, Logan Ryan, Stephen Gilmore, and Dre Kirkpatrick. The first three guys on that, of course, can be hard to lure, especially Berry and Ryan, who seem locked with the Chiefs and Patriots, respectively, but hey, ain’t no harm in trying.
They have a fighting chance with Bouye, and he’ll definitely add firepower in the pass defense. He had a great showing in this season’s playoffs, as he recorded an interception in the Raiders and Patriots games.
The next is a defensive lineman or pass rusher, and the guys they should call are Chandler Jones, Calais Campbell, Jabaal Sheard, Charles Johnson, and Jonathan Hankins. Mixing one or two of those guys with Malik Jackson and Dante Fowler should equate to great things.
Top Draft Needs
Should they fail to land a key DE in free agency, it will be wise to use the fourth overall pick on Jonathan Allen or Derek Barnett, two of the top D-linemen in the draft. Allen had 22.5 sacks and 30.5 tackles for loss in his final two years in Alabama; Barnett, meanwhile, had 52 tackles for loss and 32 sacks in his three years in Tennessee.
If, however, they get a couple of those veteran rushers, Leonard Fournette is a great choice. The back is touted as the most complete runner in the nation, and he should be able to provide instant improvement in the Jags’ running attack. In his 32 career games with the LSU Tigers, he averaged 119.6 yards per game, along with running for 40 touchdowns.
For the middle and latter rounds, they can use it to acknowledge the needs in other positions. Among the players they can take an extra look on are John Ross (WR), Curtis Samuel (WR), Bucky Hodges (TE), Dede Westbrook (WR), Quincy Wilson (CB), Carlos Watkins (DT), Alvin Kamara (RB), and Josh Carraway (LB).
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