
Reassessing the Jaguars' Offseason Plan and Breaking Down What's Left to Address
It's been an exciting offseason for the Jacksonville Jaguars. We've seen free-agent signings, coaching and in-depth scouting at the 2015 Senior Bowl, and it's not even close to over. The NFL draft is yet to come, and there is still plenty of time remaining in free agency.
Despite the big events and amount of time left, the Jaguars have made a lot of progress. The goal was to finally combine experience and young talent into a team that can legitimately compete in the NFL, and Jacksonville is coming close.
If we were to glance at a list of the Jaguars' goals for this offseason, it would look like this:
- Add a top player at his position
- Bring experience to the secondary
- Upgrade the front seven
- Upgrade at tackle
- Find the starting running back
- Find the lead receiver
- Find a "Leo" for the future
The Jaguars have knocked out the first four objectives for the most part.
The top player at his position, aka tight end Julius Thomas, was a fantastic signing and a sensible one at that. Thomas' signing means the Jaguars have a top player, and he will be a fantastic target for quarterback Blake Bortles in his second season.
As for bringing experience to the secondary, the signings of Sergio Brown and Davon House fulfilled that request. They are two experienced, talented guys who can bring a lot for the Jaguars in 2015 and can also teach young players like Aaron Colvin and Johnathan Cyprien.
The signings of Jared Odrick and Dan Skuta definitely help the front seven, and the Jaguars now look much more consistent across the board. The line and the linebackers groups both look strong and also have solid backups and competition.
Finally, the signing of Jermey Parnell at tackle helped the Jaguars considerably at tackle. While it's yet to be seen if he's worth $14.5 million guaranteed, he's been a solid performer when he's on the field and will challenge for a starting spot.
However, the Jaguars have yet to find their true starting running back, lead receiver and "Leo" for the future.
Now, they may find all three of these players in the draft, and they could find their lead back and receiver in a current player or in a free-agent signing as well.
I expect the Jaguars to at least find a solution to the Leo position in the draft. I could understand the Jaguars not taking a receiver or running back in the draft, but Jacksonville needs a player to compete with and replace Chris Clemons.
The Jaguars should take a pass-rusher in the first round. There's just too much talent and options in the first round, and they have to take advantage of that.
Between Randy Gregory, Dante Fowler Jr., Leonard Williams and Vic Beasley, the Jaguars have their choice of pass-rushing talent. While it's a great situation to be in, they still have to figure out the RB and WR positions.
At running back, the Jaguars have an interesting situation. They may think that Denard Robinson and Toby Gerhart are the definite No. 1 and No. 2 backs, but they could also be unhappy with the current depth chart.
Should they feel the need to draft a running back, the depth at the position is almost as strong as the depth of pass-rushers. Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, Jay Ajayi, Ameer Abdullah and more are available at various times in the draft, which means their selection depends on the position's importance.
The same goes for wide receiver. Despite some worthy options in free agency, the Jaguars seem focused on taking one in the draft. Amari Cooper, Kevin White, Jaelen Strong and Sammie Coates are just a few options among the plentiful crop of receivers.
The Jaguars have two key offensive positions to fill and an even more pertinent need at Leo. They are going to have to rank these positions' importance for the draft and for free agency afterward, if they feel that's the best route.
We'll have to wait and see.
All stats were provided by ESPN.com, unless otherwise stated.
Evan Reier is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report covering the Jacksonville Jaguars. Follow Evan on Twitter at @evanreier.
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