Former NFL GM Says Jaguars Are Top Landing Spot for Frank Clark

Former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman thinks Frank Clark would make a lot of sense for the Jaguars to add after the draft.

Despite picking 13 times in last weekend's NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars curiously left one unit untouched until the third day: the pass-rush.

After losing Arden Key in free agency and seeing now-free agent Dawuane Smoot suffer a torn Achillies in Week 16, the Jaguars entered the draft with plenty of questions about a pass-rush that finished No. 26 in sacks in 2022. Their response to those questions, so far, has been fourth-round pick Tyler Lacy and fifth-round pick Yasir Abdullah.

As a result, it wouldn't surprise many to see the Jaguars attempt to bring in a veteran pass-rusher before training camp opens in July. And for former NFL general manager and current 33rd Team contributor Rick Spielman, that pass-rusher should be ex-Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark.

"One player that sticks out for the Jacksonville Jaguars is Frank Clark. He helped the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl last year and can still can get pressure on the quarterback.  The Jaguars had a remarkable turnaround last year, winning the AFC South, and they should be favored to win the AFC South again this season. The one area that made Jacksonville competitive was not only Trevor Lawrence and everything accomplished on offense, but they had some players that could get upfield and pressure the quarterback,"

Spielman wrote. 

"They lost one of them, Arden Key, in free agency. So, if I’m general manager Trent Baalke, I’d be looking to add another one. They have Travon Walker, who they drafted No. 1 overall last year, and they drafted Yasir Abdullah in the fifth round this year. He’s got a chance to develop into a quality player but probably not right away.

Obviously, they have Josh Allen, who had seven sacks last season. K’Lavon Chaisson has been a bust since the team drafted him, but Baalke didn’t select Chaisson, so I could see them adding another name to this group.

If the Jaguars add Clark into the mix with Walker and Allen, they’ll have a great rotation, allowing them to repeat as AFC South champions. A veteran like Clark would help their defense tremendously.

Clark is a physical player who would help replace the pure energy and physicality that Key brought to the Jaguars, though it is worth noting that he averaged 5.875 sacks a year with the Chiefs and only recorded more than six sacks once. He wouldn't be a savior to the pass-rush, but he could be a solid second or third fiddle.

And to Spielman's credit, the Jaguars and general manager Trent Baalke do not sound like a group content with not adding more pieces before camp. 

"There's always time to add. We're in a good situation with a cap perspective. We're a lot less tight on the cap than we were a year ago. There's room to work here.Coach and I talked about this right after the draft. We're not done putting this team together. We're going to take a hard look at what we have. We've got a great chance with these young guys coming in in a couple of weeks and over the next month or so watching them as they go through the offseason program and really kind of assess where we are," Baalke said.

"Is it offense? Is it defense? Is it special teams? Is it team in general? We'll make some decisions from there. But I would expect us to continue to make some moves. How big they are, how small they are, that remains to be seen. But we're not done. We're going to continue to work to build this team and make it as potent as we can going into the regular season."