2022 NFL Free Agency: Who Has Ties to Jaguars' Doug Pederson?

Which free agents make sense for Doug Pederson to reunite with in Jacksonville?

Doug Pederson has a lot of work to do in his first year as Jacksonville Jaguars head coach. Not only does he have to implement a winning culture into one of the NFL's longest-tenured losers, but he has to overhaul a roster that has won just four games over the last 33 games. 

Luckily for the Jaguars, each NFL offseason presents the opportunity to do just that. Aside from 12 draft picks the Jaguars will enter April with, Jacksonville and Pederson will also have roughly over $60 million in cap space to enter the free agency period with.

And free agency in the NFL is much like it is in the rest of life's occurrences of looking for a new job: relationships tend to win out. So, just as we did last year with Urban Meyer's staff, we are opting to do a coach-by-coach look at which players hitting the free agency market have direct ties to the Jaguars' staff.

First up is, of course, Pederson himself. So, which free agents could Pederson attract to Jacksonville based on prior working relationships? We take an extensive look below.

TE Zach Ertz

The most notable former Pederson player set to hit free agency is former Eagles tight end Zach Ertz. Ertz had a solid bounce-back season in 2021 while catching 74 passes for 763 yards and five touchdowns with the Eagles and Cardinals. But after Ertz's trade to Arizona in the middle of the 2021 season, the former Stanford tight end is now set to become a free agent for the first time in his career.

Considering Ertz's best years in the NFL came under Pederson from 2016-2020 (392 catches for 4,054 yards and 27 touchdowns, three Pro Bowl appearances), it isn't hard to imagine the duo would be open to working together again. The two were clearly close in Philadelphia and Pederson knows Ertz's strengths as well as likely any coach in the entire NFL, while Ertz knows Pederson would know how to use him.

Love you coach pic.twitter.com/1TmhVI0ROz

— Zach Ertz (@ZERTZ_86) January 11, 2021

S Rodney McLeod

One of Pederson's top defensive players during his tenure with the Eagles, Rodney McLeod was a free agent the Eagles prioritized signing in Pederson's first year as head coach in 2016. McLeod is now set to be a free agent again six years later and while he is not the premier safety he was when the two first worked together, he is still a respected and experienced veteran voice. McLeod started 62 regular-season games for the Eagles during Pederson's tenure.

"I was sad to see him go. Sent him a heartfelt message when he did leave man," McLeod said earlier this month when asked about Pederson. "I came to Philly with him, so it was sad to see him go, but now he is getting another opportunity to leave his mark in this league."

OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

Someone with less experience with Pederson than the first two players on this list, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif spent his rookie season with Pederson as his offensive coordinator in Kansas City in 2015. Duvernay-Tardif did start 13 regular season games for the 11-5 Chiefs with Pederson at the play-calling helm, however, so the two still have a clear connection. Duvernay-Tardif started seven games for the Jets last season.

CB Rasul Douglas

A high draft pick (third-round) by the Eagles the year they won the Super Bowl, Rasul Douglas had his best season without the Eagles and Pederson in 2021 as a member of the Packers. Still, Douglas is a former key young piece of Pederson's Eagles franchise and played a role on Pederson's best team. Ultimately the veteran cornerback appeared in 46 games under Pederson, starting 18 while intercepting five passes. For a Jaguars team that needs cornerback depth, Douglas would make a lot of sense.

QB Chase Daniel

The Jaguars have a veteran backup for Trevor Lawrence already in the building with C.J. Beathard, but Pederson has never been shy to find veteran quarterbacks he is familiar with. Daniel and Pederson worked together closely from 2013-2015 when Daniel was the Chiefs' backup quarterback and Pederson was offensive coordinator, while Daniel spent time with the Eagles in 2016. Perhaps Pederson would want to go with age and experience when it comes to Lawrence's backup quarterback.

RB Boston Scott

While Boston Scott was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 2018 NFL Draft, it is with the Eagles where his mark has been made. Added to the Eagles' roster during the 2018 season, Scott made perfect sense for a pass-catching role in Pederson's offense after the success of Darren Sproles in the same role. Scott played in 29 games and started six under Pederson, rushing 141 times for 619 yards (4.4 yards per catch) and six touchdowns while catching 49 passes for 416 yards and one touchdown.

Just spoke to RB @BostonScott2 about former #Eagles coach Doug Pederson: “Doug is a great coach, a great guy, a great man. He's the type of guy that will open his house up to you....”
Full quote 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/9ymMTiYUbL

— Rob Maaddi (@RobMaaddi) January 11, 2021

C Jason Kelce

This one may not make sense fit-wise, but it would be impossible to not mention center Jason Kelce. One of the key pieces to the Eagles' Super Bowl run, Kelce was arguably the NFL's best center during Pederson's tenure as the Eagles head coach. Kelce started and appeared in all 80 of Pederson's regular season games and was a three-time First-Team All-Pro during that tenure.

EDGE Derek Barnett

The Eagles' first-round pick in 2017 at No. 14 overall, Derek Barnett has made a lot of big plays for Pederson's defenses in the past. While Barnett has not always lived up to his draft status, he played a key role on each of Pederson's Eagles' teams from 2017-2020. During that time, Barnett appeared in 48 games while starting 30, recording 19.5 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, 65 quarterback hits, and three forced fumbles during that span.

WR Albert Wilson

What better coach for Albert Wilson to reunite with than Doug Pederson? The former Chiefs and Dolphins receiver spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons -- his first two in the NFL -- in Pederson's offense, catching 51 passes for 711 yards (13.9 yards per catch) and two touchdowns while rushing five times for 26 yards. Wilson's skill set would fit the Jaguars' needs, too, even if he is simply a depth receiver at this point.

WR DeSean Jackson

We didn't get to see DeSean Jackson do much on the field during his two years with Pederson from 2019-2020, but the field stretching deep threat makes perfect sense for a Jaguars roster that has a big-armed quarterback but not enough receivers who can win deep to take advantage of said passer. In Jackson's two years with the Eagles during Pederson's tenure, he caught 23 passes for 395 yards (17.2 yards per catch) and three touchdowns in eight games.

WR Mack Hollins

A fourth-round pick by the Eagles in 2017, Mack Hollins caught 26 passes for 351 yards and one touchdown in 28 games with Pederson. While Hollins has gotten more consistent playing time with the Dolphins than he did with the Eagles during Pederson's tenure, he still makes sense as a depth and special teams option for a Jaguars team that needs help in both regards.

OT Eric Fisher

Another former offensive lineman, the Chiefs made Eric Fisher the No. 1 overall pick in Pederson's first year as the team's offensive coordinator in 2013. Fisher would play under Pederson for the next three years, starting 43 games during that span. Fisher has started 30 games at left tackle the last two years, with 15 of those coming with the Colts and former Pederson assistant Frank Reich in 2021.

WR Greg Ward

A former college quarterback, Greg Ward blossomed into a legitimate NFL receiver under Pederson and his staff's watch. Ward was an undrafted rookie on the Eagles' practice squad during their Super Bowl run in 2017 and also spent 2018, 2019 and 2020 with the Eagles and Pederson. In 2019 and 2020, Ward was targeted 119 times and caught 81 passes for 673 yards and seven touchdowns.

LB Alex Singleton

A former undrafted free agent who got his first chance in the NFL under Pederson's watch, Alex Singleton is a player who made his value clear to Pederson as a core special-teamer. Singleton played in 26 games under Pederson and started 11, with all of those starts coming in 2020. During that span, Singleton recorded 125 tackles, one interception, one pass deflection, two fumble recoveries, five tackles for loss, and seven quarterback hits. 

DL Hassan Ridgeway

A rotational defensive lineman who joined the Eagles in 2019, Hassan Ridgeway could be a familiar face if Pederson wants to add some interior defensive depth. Ridgeway appeared in 14 games and started five during his two years with Pederson, recording 19 tackles, three sacks, six tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits. 

OG Nate Herbig

Signing with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Stanford in 2019, Nate Herbig spent two years with Pederson. The second year saw Herbig play extensively, too, with the guard starting 12 games and appearing in 15 as the Eagles saw offensive line injuries throughout the season.