JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jaguars offensive scheme was a point of contention most of last season. It slumped towards the end of last year, causing them to miss the playoffs. Offensive coordinator, Press Taylor, was a first-time play caller, and received the bulk of the blame for a lot of the struggles.
The Jaguars went 9-8 last season and are looking to improve their offensive scheme and play-calling.
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Hopefully.
“Ultimately winning is what matters to us. However we get to that point, we’re all for,” Taylor said.
Taylor wants any changes to be about “how can we help ourselves get there?” Improved play from quarterback Trevor Lawrence is a reason to think that Jacksonville can improve on that side of the ball. Last year, Lawrence had 21 turnovers, the offensive line struggled and the team faced many injuries.
“And then look at throughout the off season and training camp how can we see growth in these things. Like we mentioned earlier, there is just a physicality that you can lack through the offseason. If we’re asking our guys to be physical but we can’t do it in this time, what are things we’re going to hold them accountable for and try to get better through this time,” Taylor said.
Pederson and Taylor agreed that shaping their roster and new talent will help them succeed.
“The development of our roster and everybody on the roster was something that was intriguing to me. That’s something we needed to address, needed to fix. That’s not just on that side of the ball. It’s offense as well,” Pederson said.
Pederson also believes that OTAs are an important time to develop young talent. The NFLPA is considering getting rid of OTAs and expanding training camp.
“The offseason is great to kind of build a foundation and really see your young players. Goes back to the developmental piece of your young guys. This is the time you want to start that foundation,” Pederson said.
The team has new faces as two of the top receivers. Brian Thomas Jr. is a rookie first-round pick, and Gabe Davis is a free agent who spent his first four seasons with the Buffalo Bills.
“Brian has done a great job. Brian is what we expected. He is long, fast and smart. So those things have shown up early on getting him involved. He spent a lot of the meeting time with Chad and being around Christian [WR Christian Kirk], Gabe [WR Gabe Davis], who not necessarily knows our system, but knows the NFL and what things are going to look like,” Taylor said.
Mitch Morse is a new offensive lineman with nine years of NFL experience and has also sparked excitement for the coaches.
“This is a guy that’s very confident in who he is, what he’s done. You see it show up in the way he handled himself in the huddle and meeting room. He’s not afraid to speak up and ask questions,” Taylor stated.