Last offseason was filled with optimism for the Jaguars. After all, they had just drafted the best quarterback prospect in a decade and acquired one of the finest college coaches of the modern era. In the end it all crashed and burned, with scandals off the field and terrible performances on it. Jacksonville ended up as just the third non-expansion team to earn the No. 1 overall pick in back-to-back drafts. Jaguars fans everywhere will be hoping that is a thing of the past now.
Offseason additions and losses
Jacksonville’s focus for this offseason was clear – they needed to do more to help Trevor Lawrence. They did just that with the addition of Brandon Scherff, signing him to a three-year, $50 million deal to make him the highest paid right guard in football. Scherff’s arrival will bring some much-needed experience to an interior offensive line that lost long-standing guard and center pairing Andrew Norwell and Brandon Linder this offseason.
The Jags also managed to reset the wide receiver market by signing Christian Kirk to a headline-grabbing four-year, $72 million deal. The deal was an obvious overpay, but that’s just a fact of life for Jacksonville right now. There were some notable defensive additions too. They picked up linebacker Foyesade Oluokun to replace the departing Myles Jack and also added nose tackle Folorunso Fatukasi and cornerback Darious Williams.
2022 NFL Draft
| Pick | Player |
| 1.1 | Travon Walker – EDGE, Georgia |
| 1.27 | Devin Lloyd – LB, Utah |
| 3.65 | Luke Fortner – IOL, Kentucky |
| 3.70 | Chad Muma – LB, Wyoming |
| 5.154 | Snoop Conner – RB, Ole Miss |
| 6.197 | Gregory Junior – CB, Ouachita Baptist |
| 7.222 | Montaric Brown – CB, Arkansas |
The Jaguars’ decision to select Travon Walker No. 1 overall was nothing if not divisive. That said, he is a genuine talent who will significantly boost their strength in the trenches, with some outstanding run defense ability and tonnes of pass rushing upside. Lloyd can be the team’s do-it-all linebacker, whilst Muma provides new defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell with even more depth. The selection of Fortner in the third round may have been a bit premature, but he is a solid prospect who can start right away at center.
Offense
Everything is changing on offense for Jacksonville. Urban Meyer is gone and will take his stale and outdated offense with him. In comes Doug Pederson with a scheme that not only has proven success in the NFL, but one that is perfectly suited to his new quarterback. Trevor Lawrence might not have had the best stat line as a rookie, but he put out plenty of good tape. He also thrived in a quick passing, RPO-heavy system at Clemson, and that is exactly what Pederson will be bringing to the Jaguars in 2022.
In addition to a new scheme, the Jaguars have also given their quarterback better weapons. Whilst the team noticeably lacks a true WR1, they have improved their receiving corps vastly compared to 2021. 89 of Lawrence’s targets last season went to Jamal Agnew and Laquon Treadwell. The additions of Christian Kirk and Zay Jones will no doubt help matters and give Lawrence targets that can actually get open. Bringing in Evan Engram at tight end was also a smart piece of business from Jacksonville as he can at the bare minimum be a solid pass catching tight end.
The question will be whether this offense line can hold up. For years the Jaguars have been able to rely on Andrew Norwell and Brandon Linder to provide a solid interior line, but both are gone. Brandon Scherff should be good, but the other two spots remain as legitimate question marks. The offensive tackle duo of Cam Robinson and Jawaan Taylor are also likely to cause Lawrence problems, having allowed an astonishing 249 pressures in three years starting together.
Defense
Doug Pederson wasted no time in bringing in a new defensive coordinator, hiring Tampa Bay’s linebacker coach Mike Caldwell. He will bring a scheme shift with him, and it already looks like this team is being modelled after the Bucs. Both Devin Lloyd and Chad Muma are great blitzers, allowing them to replicate the pass rushing production of Devin White. The Jaguars now have two hyper-athletic edge rushers in Travon Walker and Josh Allen, who are comfortable playing forwards or backwards.
This all gives them a tonne of flexibility with the way they create pressure. Caldwell saw the success Tampa Bay had with hybrid and amoeba fronts and he will no doubt look to utilise them in Jacksonville. You can expect to see lots of exotic blitzes, as well as a tonne of simulated pressures to keep opposing offenses guessing. With the addition of Folorunso Fatukasi they have the glue that holds it all together at nose tackle and a player who can seriously improve their run defense.
There are some nice pieces in the secondary too, particularly at cornerback with the starting duo of Shaquill Griffin and Darious Williams. Both Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco also look like players primed for impressive second seasons. The concern is a lack of depth at almost every level. If their starting 11 stay fit this is a legitimately talented defense, but that is highly unlikely. Once you start looking at the backups things start to get dicey very quickly.
Prediction
The Jaguars have become a byword for a disaster over the last few years, finishing as the league’s worst team in both 2020 and 2021. Things could change this season though. Swapping Urban Meyer for Doug Pederson is a huge move and he should be able to unlock Trevor Lawrence’s generational talent in a way that his predecessor never did. The Jags aren’t likely to push for the postseason, but they could easily double their three wins from last season and that is the progress this franchise really needs.
