JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The free agency rush is over and the Jaguars made a flurry of moves over the past week. Jamal St. Cyr and Justin Barney break down the moves of the week and answer these three questions.
What was your favorite move of the week?
JSC: Not matching Ridley’s contract offer. This might feel like it is coming a bit out of left field but just give me a sec to explain. Keeping Ridley should have been a priority this offseason but giving him a $92 million deal would have been a misstep. The process to get this point was flawed. The Jags should have gotten a deal done with Josh Allen earlier to give them the flexibility to use the franchise or transition tag on Calvin Ridley. That would have effectively kept him in Jacksonville. But that ship sailed and Ridley hit the open market. The Jags made the right move sticking to their offer and allowing another team even if it is the Titans, to swoop in and drop the biggest of bags on Ridley. Good for him and his agent getting the big payday Ridley will be 30 when the season starts so this was likely his only chance for a big contract. But it was a good move by the Jags to not panic and overpay for his services.
JB: I’ll go a few ways on this one. Two of the biggest needs entering the offseason, center and interior defensive line, were addressed. Jacksonville signed center Mitch Morse, who was cut from Buffalo and then added ex-San Francisco defensive tackle Arik Armstead. Both were salary cap casualties. I love those two moves. In addition to getting much stronger at those two positions of weakness, both Morse and Armstead are high character guys. On the trade side, I really liked the trade for QB Mac Jones. The Jaguars likely won’t carry three QBs this season. And if you’ve looked around the league to see the abundance of teams who clearly aren’t settled at that position, it absolutely makes sense. Jacksonville can let Jones and C.J. Beathard play the bulk of the preseason, and then potentially flip the loser of the backup QB battle to a team that’s in need. If players like Sam Darnold and Blaine Gabbert can keep getting opportunities, Jones will, too. Love that low-risk move which cost only a sixth-round pick and the potential it gives Jacksonville in the future.
Post-free agency, what do you think the Jaguars do with the 17th pick in the draft now?
JSC: Call me crazy but the pick is going to be on the offensive line. The Jags still need a receiver and a cornerback. The good news is this year’s draft has a ton of talent at both of those spots. With the way the top of the draft is looking right now, there could be a really good offensive line player staring at the Jags at 17. Maybe a good enough player to convince them not to trade back and to make a little bit of a luxury pick in the first round. But is it really a luxury pick when the O-line struggled last year? Troy Fautanu from Washington is the type of athlete the Jags like on the O-line. Give me Fautaunu at 17. CB TJ Tampa at 48 and Brenden Rice at 96. Thank me later.
JB: I will call Jamal crazy. I don’t think they go OL in the first round. They need a starter at No. 17 and I don’t think any spot on the line is calling for starter. To me, it’s the same target as before free agency, cornerback or receiver. Ronald Darby and Tyson Campbell will be the outside guys. Who’s in the slot? The Jaguars will almost certainly have the opportunity to take the second-best corner in the draft if they stay at 17. But I’m not opposed to getting a receiver at 17 and a corner at 48. This is thought to be a deep draft at receiver and not as deep at corner. Jacksonville needs reinforcements at both of those.
What move would you have made that the Jaguars didn’t make?
JSC: They can still do it. Go get Chase Young. Take a flier and make it work. Last season, the Jags didn’t have a legit No. 3 rusher so Josh Allen and Travon Walker played a lot of snaps. Adding Young would give Jacksonville probably its best trio of pass rushers in franchise history. That’s only one layer of my pitch to add Young. It is hard to get elite pass rushers in the building. Young has had his issues with injuries but if the light comes on he could be an elite player. If they could get Young on a two-year deal worth around $30 million that would be a home run. It is short enough that Young would be in line for a big payday if he can be productive and it would give the Jags a little insurance if they can’t get a long-term deal done with Allen.
JB: In a vacuum, it’s not addressing their need for an elite or upper tier receiver. That could have been re-signing Calvin Ridley or making a trade for another player like the franchise-tagged Tee Higgins or Brandon Aiyuk. Going into the season with Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis and Zay Jones is a step back on offense. The Ridley situation once again solidified that teams cannot afford to let players who they covet reach the open market. They saw that last year with right tackle Jawaan Taylor and they saw it again this year with Ridley. Jacksonville was right to let him walk for the contract that the Titans paid him. That’s a massive overpay for a pass catcher who hasn’t been a top-10 guy and is getting older. The trade for him in 2022 wound up costing the team fifth- and third-round draft picks. That’s a lot for 17 games and clearly a misstep by Trent Baalke. I don’t know what a Higgins or an Aiyuk would cost in capital, but those players would both be upgrades over Ridley, who will be 30 this year. That’s what I would have done.