EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was published in Sand Castles, July 25, 2024.
Jaguars General Manager Trent Baalke and Head Coach Doug Pederson huddled in the Miller Electric Center hours after their team was eliminated by the Titans in Nashville in January.
They didn’t have the time or the inclination to lament a season that ended with five losses in six weeks, none more gut-wrenching than the last, which ultimately left them on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Injuries aside, and there were key injuries down the stretch that helped disable their playoff hopes, there were too many flaws for a team that expected to build off their playoff win in 2022. The two men needed to take an honest assessment of where they were and commit to an aggressive strategy that would consume the next six months. They needed to get on the same page and that page was filled with an off-season to-do list for a team with too much talent, too much potential to fall short again.
On the cusp of another NFL season, the Jaguars 30th in franchise history, the two men have worked through that long list and can look one another in the eye after a busy and productive off-season. By my recount of their stated intentions, their list sits complete as training camp looms.
Getting bigger and stronger so they could overcome their lack of physical play at the line of scrimmage was at the top of the list. The Jaguars checked in at the bottom of the NFL on third down conversions of fewer than three yards and their inability to stay on the field cost the offense any chance to find a rhythm that would let quarterback Trevor Lawrence play loose and free. Enter former Buffalo center Mitch Morse and a new contract for guard Ezra Cleveland who played hurt after arriving via trade in October. The addition of Morse should give them the push they need but they’re still relying on Cam Robinson to stay on the field at left tackle and aging left guard Brandon Scherff to avoid injury. If the Jaguars can run the ball, it will unlock an offense that was too predictable and too passive a season ago.
On the other side of the line the addition of former San Francisco 49ers defensive end Arik Armstead and the news that defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton is finally healthy didn’t stop the Jags brain trust from adding defensive lineman Maason Smith and Jordan Jefferson from LSU in the NFL Draft. The defensive front now has size and depth inside to go with pass rushers Josh Allen and Travon Walker.
The hole that remained when wide receiver Calvin Ridley left in free agency was quickly filled with former UCF Golden Knight Gabe Davis and first round draft pick Brian Thomas Jr. from LSU to give the quarterback bigger targets with better speed down the field. Davis, who famously scored four touchdowns in a playoff loss to Kansas City while with Buffalo, brings a proven playmaker, while Thomas is the kind of receiver the Jaguars have long longed for, tall with great length, fast with an extra gear and fresh off a 17-touchdown season in Baton Rouge.
New defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen needed help in the secondary to cover the opponents’ receivers and who could handle his scheme, which requires defensive backs who can play in press coverage at the line of scrimmage. Ronald Darby signed on in free agency after a stint in Baltimore and a history with Pederson in Philadelphia where he claimed a Super Bowl ring and former Green Bay Packers first round draft pick Darnell Savage came south to play safety in the new scheme.
And that’s just on the field. Off the field they had to massage the salary cap for a greater level of financial flexibility so that they could ink Allen to a $150 million dollar contract, which registered as the biggest deal in franchise history, and then topped that with a $275 million dollar contract for Lawrence. Check and check … literally. Long-term planning is impossible without having the best player on both sides of the ball secured for the foreseeable future.
Mix in a new defensive coaching staff with men whose resumes met Pederson’s criteria of championship experience and culture and you have a very busy off-season for Trent and Doug and by all accounts they checked every box mentioned above plus a few more.
But was their list complete? Did they do enough to take a team that won the AFC South in 2022 and gave it away in 2023 and re-focus, re-energize and re-shape it for 2024? We’re about to find out!
