With One Month Remaining, Jaguars Should Finally Let Rookie Class on the Field

With only four games left on the schedule, the Jaguars' top priority should be to finally start to play their rookie draft class when it counts.

While the playoffs were out of the picture long before the Jaguars were eliminated from contention in Week 14, the 2-11 Jaguars still have a few things left to play for over the final four weeks -- just like any other losing team.

There is pride and the hopes of finding some sort of positive momentum to carry into 2021. There is tape for future employers to consider. And perhaps most importantly, there are reps to be delved out to young and developing players who may be the future.

This is especially true for a Jaguars squad who has sparingly played its rookie class outside of two top picks in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and cornerback Tyson Campbell. With just four games remaining in what has been an otherwise nightmarish season, the Jaguars should enforce a full-on youth movement, something head coach Urban Meyer and his staff have been stubborn to implement through the last 14 weeks.

If the Jaguars are concerned about putting the best players on the field in hopes of finding a win -- as Meyer and defensive coordinator Joe Cullen have both stated -- then they should recognize that the current lineups haven't led to wins. Instead they have led to two different five-game losing streaks and one of the worst seasons in Jaguars history from an offensive and defensive production standpoint.

There is little else to play for in 2021 besides building some kind of hope for the future. And considering the Jaguars' lack of success this year, that kind of hope for the future could be the best present option in many cases, too.

The Jaguars entered the offseason armed with five picks in the top-65 and 12 overall, but so far the rookies have made little to no impact on a team that was 1-15 just a year ago. For a team with plenty of draft ammo and cap room, the Jaguars have not seen many impact additions. As owner Shad Khan clearly put on Monday, this wasn't the expectation for Jacksonville.

“No, I mean, to me, and that was a very, very important to me when we hired this year, when somebody comes in and says I have this plan, four-year plan or something like that, uh, no.The plan is you need to start winning now, okay, and tell me what you need and that’s what we’re going to do. Because that is absolutely a trap I don’t believe falling in," Khan said.

"This year it was, we were blessed with No. 1 pick and generational talent, I believe that, so we wanted to choose wisely. I think we did. And then, okay, look at all the picks we had. Five in the first 65. You’ve got to have players who are starter quality or definitely going to make a difference. We signed free agents, et cetera, et cetera. I feel we have a roster that is far better than winning two games.”

Simply look at the Jaguars' rookie class and its usage, however, and it is clear the Jaguars have let themselves fall into that trap. They are opting to not sacrifice wins and veteran playing time for rookies even despite a long string of losses -- even though veterans like Jawaan Taylor and Andrew Wingard have not produced optimal results.

The Jaguars, quite simply, can not go into 2022 only knowing about the current state of development in Lawrence and Campbell. There is no avoiding the Travis Etienne situation after the No. 25 overall pick was lost for the year due to a preseason foot injury, but look at the rest of their draft picks.

• Walker Little (No. 45, one start, 69 snaps)
• Andre Cisco (No. 65 overall, zero starts, 67 snaps)
• Jay Tufele (No. 106, zero starts, 42 snaps)
• Jordan Smith (No. 121 overall, zero starts, zero snaps)
• Luke Farrell (No. 145 overall, zero starts, 187 snaps)
• Jalen Camp (No. 209 overall, waived before Week 1 and signed with Houston).

From Little to Smith, the Jaguars have gotten just one start and a grand total of 178 offensive or defensive snaps among four players. Farrell alone has played more this season than Little, Cisco, Tufele, and Smith combined. Tufele was on injured reserve for six weeks, but Little, Cisco, and Smith have been healthy all season long and have still mostly sat and watched.

This is untenable for the Jaguars. If they are going to improve in 2022 -- and it is hard to go anywhere from up at this point -- they will need to see if players like Little, Cisco, Tufele, and Smith can make impacts. Two of those players (Little and Cisco) very well could have to be leaned on as starters next season, but the Jaguars expect them to enter Year 2 with almost no live reps?

The Jaguars don't want to sacrifice winning, but they are already doing that by making no changes to the lineup each week. The current formula isn't working, so why not let the rookies have their chance?