Assessing the Most Pressing Needs Facing the 2021 Jaguars: Questions Loom in the Slot
The Jacksonville Jaguars and the NFL are now sitting at the foot of a new offseason. Another cycle of player movement, stars and rosters being reshuffled, big contracts being signed, and high draft picks is upon us.
Maybe no team is poised to have a more important offseason for their short- and long-term future than the Jaguars entering 2021. The team has a new head coach in Urban Meyer, a new general manager in Trent Baalke, and eventually a new quarterback to lead the franchise.
But the Jaguars are fresh off a 1-15 season and have a lot of work ahead of them if they want to get back to being a competitive team. A 12-36 record over the last three seasons summarizes just how much the Jaguars' roster has deteriorated in recent years.
But which of the team's many needs are the most pressing? Which positions deserve the most attention and thought as the Jaguars navigate the offseason? We will go through what we see as the team's eight largest needs in a series of articles that examines two needs at a time.
The two most pressing needs are at quarterback and left tackle. The third was interior defensive line, while the fourth was cornerback. But what about the next two?
No. 5: Slot players
We are going to cheat a bit (or a lot?) here and list two positions as the team's No. 5 greatest need, but mainly because each falls within the same category ... albeit on different sides of the ball.
Entering the 2021 offseason, the Jaguars have major questions in the slot on both offense and defense. The Jaguars have historically got good production from each of these roles, but significant additions will have to be made over the coming weeks and months to repeat this.
Defensively, the Jaguars got several years of strong play from the slot cornerback position thanks to career years by both Aaron Colvin and D.J. Hayden. Hayden was arguably the team's defensive MVP in 2019, while Colvin played well enough in 2017 to earn a big free agency contract from the Texans.
2020 went quite differently, though. In the final year of his three-year contract, injuries and age caught up to Hayden and ultimately drained him of his effectiveness. Hayden appeared in just five games last fall, but in these appearances he allowed a completion rate of 88.2 and allowed 10.5 yards per completion, both his highest marks since joining the Jaguars in 2018. Even if Hayden was still under contract next season, the Jaguars would likely need to find a replacement to play in the team's nickel packages.
What about the internal options? Tre Herndon has a lot of slot experience, but he is a restricted free agent. 2020 first-round pick CJ Henderson spent just 33 snaps in the slot as a rookie, while fellow rookie Chris Claybooks played only 31 snaps there. Fourth-round pick Josiah Scott was drafted to play the slot, but he played just 80 defensive snaps in 2020 as the Jaguars continually passed him over for replacements in the slot.
Who are some options to fill this massive void? This will become more clear once the Jaguars find a second cornerback first, but Ohio State's Shaun Wade is a prototypical slot cornerback. He doesn't have the skill set to thrive on the outside, but he could be a Day 2 pick who can step into the defense and make plays closer to the line of scrimmage right away.
Then there is the slot position on the offensive side of the ball. The Jaguars' primary slot receiver in 2020 was Keelan Cole, who moved into the role for the first time in his career. Cole spent 534 of his 785 offensive snaps last season in the slot, making him a fixture of the offense last season.
Cole impressed in his first audition in the slot, setting career-highs in catches (55) and touchdowns five). He displayed the route-running skills, reliability, and comfort for attacking the underneath and intermediate areas of the field that is required out of the slot.
So if Cole was so impressive, why is slot receiver a need? The answer is simple: Cole isn't currently set to be on the roster in 2021, with him entering the offseason as an unrestricted free agent.
Perhaps the Jaguars opt to give Cole a new deal that would pay him his market value, but it is also a possibility the Jaguars' new coaching staff and front office instead opt to draft or sign a replacement for Cole. Draft options include Rondale Moore, Kadarius Toney, Shi Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and more.
The Jaguars have a good in-house option to fill their slot vacancy. It involves simply re-signing Cole, which they can afford to do so. But some action must be taken either way to ensure the Jaguars have all the weapons they need for next season.
No. 6: Tight end
If this was a listing of which positions the Jaguars have the least amount of talent at, tight end would probably come in at second or third -- behind only quarterback and maybe the interior defensive line. Simply put, the Jaguars have one of the weakest tight end rooms in the entire NFL, a trend that has been a constant for the last several years.
In total, Jaguars tight ends were targeted 106 times but caught just 68 passes for 637 yards and two touchdowns in 2020. No tight end hit 350 yards and Tyler Eifert was the lone player at the position to find the endzone.
Eifert was by far Jacksonville's most productive tight end, but he was among the least efficient players on the entire offense. Quarterbacks had a passer rating of just 59.7 when targeting Eifert, while four interceptions were thrown when quarterbacks targeted him. Eifert was their best answer at the position, but he was among the worst solutions the Jaguars could have found. The production simply wasn't there.
Moving into 2021, the Jaguars have a contractual decision to make on Eifert. But whether the Jaguars keep Eifert on the roster or not, more depth + a new starter is needed. James O'Shaughnessy is a depth player coming off a poor season, while 2019 third-round pick Josh Oliver hasn't even appeared in five games since the Jaguars drafted him due to injuries.
There is plenty of free agency and draft solutions for Jacksonville's massive hole at tight end. Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry are each set to be free agents, while Florida's Kyle Pitts, Miami's Brevin Jordan, and Penn State's Pat Freiermuth are all logical options in the top-50. The Jaguars have a connection to Freiermuth now, too, due to the hiring of Penn State tight ends coach Tyler Bowen as the team's new tight ends coach.
