The Jacksonville Jaguars as a whole must improve as 2018-19 has left fans beyond disappointed. If they are to make progress, their offense especially will need to make strides because we’re now at a day and age where the most successful teams are the ones that put up a lot of points.
After finishing 26th offensively last season (with an average of 18.8 points per game), the front office knew adjustments had to be made, and while they catered to the offense more, they certainly didn’t leave the defense hanging. Now, it will be a matter of putting it all together during the offseason and preseason, then letting their work speak in the regular season.
The new acquisitions made to the team shouldn’t only help the Jags improve offensively, but they should also help some of the key players from the 2019 unit get better, too. Here are four names we think will take a step forward in 2020 thanks to the additions made by the front office:
QB Gardner Minshew II
While the Jags didn’t add a starter on the offensive line for Gardner Minshew II (unless Ben Bartch replaces someone), he could still take a big step forward. The reason for that is because the Jags might be right to gamble on the offensive line taking a step forward after spending a lot of investments into the unit.
The other key reason Minshew could flourish is because of the pass-catching options the Jags added. Granted he will have to stay healthy, Laviska Shenault Jr. could be a solid No. 2 receiver who alleviates the pressure off of Pro Bowler D.J. Chark Jr.
The other key pass-catchers that will be added into the mix are tight ends Tyler Eifert, who also needs to stay healthy, Josh Oliver, and James O’Shaughnessy. Eifert, a former Pro Bowler, knows the system better than anyone at the moment as he played under coordinator Jay Gruden in Cincinnati.
Meanwhile, O’Shaughnessy was Minshew’s favorite target early in the 2019 season before going on injured reserve, while Oliver built a strong bond with him in training camp. If they can pick up where they left off, it would be huge for the second-year quarterback.
The bigger question is rather or not the progress Minshew makes is significant enough to prevent the Jags from taking a quarterback early next year. In a recent episode of the “Bleav in Jags” podcast, I personally said Minshew needs to look like a top-12 quarterback or better to prevent the Jags from finding another starter.
If he doesn’t and the Jags find themselves in the top-10 of the draft order again, they definitely should explore options in the draft. If he does, and they are still in the top-10, picks it would probably be better if they continued forward with him and spent their draft pick elsewhere.
OT Cam Robinson
Cam Robinson is a player with a mixed bag of critics. Some fans feel it’s right for the Jags to be patient with him as he’s been hot and cold throughout his career. Others have said it’s simply time to move on and was hoping the team went with an offensive tackle early in April’s draft. The Jags opted not to so Robinson is the guy on the blindside in 2020.
Robinson registered a 54.8, per Pro Football Focus last season. While that’s not good, he was coming off an ACL tear he sustained in 2018 and will be further removed from it. Additionally, Robinson will be playing on the last year of his rookie contract, which should give him plenty of motivation to have a solid year.
OT Jawaan Taylor
As a lot of rookies do, Jawaan Taylor took his lumps in 2019 on the opposite end of Robinson. Most fans would agree that his biggest issue was penalties as he accumulated a whopping total of 16, good for second in the league.
While that is something that needs to get cleaned up, he had a solid conclusion to the season and ended the season with a 63.8 grade per PFF, which indicates there is room for improvement, yet, made him one of the better players on the offensive line. Taylor also proved to be an ironman for the Jags as he was the only rookie from the 2019 class to play in 100% of the snaps he was eligible for.
Last month Taylor talked about getting his penalty issues cleaned up and also discussed how excited he was for team workouts. He seems motivated to get back on the field and continue his growth and his late-season tape indicates that he’s more than capable of doing so.
WR Dede Westbrook
Dede Westbrook was his most productive in 2018 under Nate Hackett when he caught a career-high of 717 yards and five touchdowns. All but seven of those receptions were from the slot (59 in total) while all of his scores were from there, too. In 2019, he saw a good bit of time there again, but John DeFilippo’s scheme limited his playmaking ability and he saw a decline in impact plays, only registering 66 catches for 660 yards and three touchdowns.
That said, the addition of Shenault in the draft provides the Jags with another receiving threat who won’t only help Chark in a big way, but help Westbrook, too. Additionally, Gruden likes to utilize slot threats in his scheme as his former slot receiver, Jamison Crowder, caught 221 passes for 2,628 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns throughout four seasons with the Washington Redskins. Hopefully, this is something that translates to Jacksonville as most would say Westbrook is a better receiver than Crowder.
.jpg?w=600)
