The Jacksonville Jaguars is the next team up in Know Your Enemy. Jaguars went 6-10 in 2019 feeling so far removed from the 2017 season AFC Championship game. Doug Marrone somehow kept his job despite the past two seasons. They traded Calais Campbell this offseason and Jalen Ramsey mid-season last year. It’s rebuilding still for Jacksonville but they have some talent. Let’s take a look.
Strengths
Pass Rush
The pass rush should still be strong despite trading Calais Campbell. Josh Allen had a great under the radar rookie season with 10.5 sacks and consistent pressure. He has lived up to the top 10 hype. Yannick Ngakoue is also a good consistent pass rusher in his four-year career. However, Ngakoue was franchised and currently wishes to be traded. If the Jags can convince him to stay and play one year on the franchise tag, their pass rush will be good. Dawuane Smoot is also a pretty good backup DE with 6 sacks. Throw in a former 2018 1st round pick DT Taven Bryan who showed good things in 2019 (23rd ranked out of 118) as well and Jacksonville has a formidable defensive line for returning DC Todd Walsh. Nose tackle is below average with Arbry Jones and Rodney Gunter. Jacksonville should bring the heat in 2020. Sacksonville could be a thing again if Ngakoue plays.
Linebacker
Myles Jack is still a very good Will LB over the years. Joe Schobert had success with the Browns and was added in free agency to play Middle Linebacker on a big deal. If that wasn’t enough, 1st round pick K’Lavon Chaisson was drafted in Round 1. This LB group plus the defensive line looks dangerous. Depth is solid with mid-round picks in 2nd year 3rd round pick Quincy Williams and rookie 4th round pick Shaquille Quarterman.
Run Game/Oline
Leonard Fournette finally lived up to his hype with 1,152 yards at 4.3 YPC and 3 TDs in 2019. They expect even more out of him but the Jaguars offensive line should be solid run blockers as well. The interior has been set with 5th ranked center Brandon Linder and 26th ranked guard Andrew Norwell. AJ Cann had a down year but has talent at guard. The tackles have been developing in 2017 2nd round pick Cam Robinson and 2019 1st round pick Jawaan Taylor. Robinson had a rough year in 2019 and Taylor was average as a rookie. If they take the next step, Fournette and QB Gardener Minshew should have a bigger year.
Could be Strength or Weakness
Passing Game
Gardner Minshew had the best rookie passer rating in 2019 and beat out Nick Foles (now Bears QB) for the job after Foles was hurt in Week 1. Minshew notched 21 TDs and only 6 interceptions with a 91.2 QB rating. He has some running ability as well at 5.1 YPC for the late round pick. Minshew developing in year 2 could be a steal for Jacksonville.
The weapons are solid but not great. DJ Chark is the best with 1,008 yards and 8 TDs in 15 games in 2019. Chris Conley is a solid number 2 with 775 yards and 5 TDs but ranked poorly. DeDe Westbook is the slot guy with 660 yards and 3 TDs. Jacksonville needed a bit more talent so they nabbed Laviska Shenault in Round 2 of the draft. Tight End and long-time Bengal, Tyler Eifert was added in free agency to pair with 2018 3rd round pick Josh Oliver at tight end. Chris Thompson is a pass catching RB as well from Washington. Former Washington Football Team HC Jay Gruden is the new OC and if he can develop Minshew, the weapons should get the job done.
Weakness
Secondary
The Jaguars traded stud Jalen Ramsey last season but drafted a good CB in Round 1 in CJ Henderson to replace him. Henderson will join two former Lions in Rashaan Melvin and DJ Hayden at CB. Hayden had a nice year in 2019 (11th ranked CB) with Jacksonville. The pass rush should be there to help these DBs though.
Safety is a problem with Ronnie Harrison being below average. Jarrod Wilson was under the radar though with a nice year in 2019 at 24th ranked out of 85 but depth is an issue at CB and safety.
Overall
Jacksonville hosts Detroit in Week 6 and the Bears in Week 16. The Jaguars travel to Green Bay in Week 10 and to Minnesota in Week 13. Don’t sleep on this team. They are weaker than the other 3 AFC South teams but they revamped the defense and have some weapons on offense to get the job done. It will be up to Minshew to see if they can turn the corner quickly.