JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The holidays are time for handing out presents and making wishes, and Jaguars fans could use a little bit of …. holiday cheer right now. That’s what a 3-12 season will do to even the most steeled and weathered Jacksonville fan. So, what better way to offer a present of positivity with four things that the Jaguars and their fans could use this holiday season.
4. More draft picks like Brian Thomas Jr.
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Fans who have followed the franchise since the beginning know all too well of the struggles when it’s come to first-round picks. For every hit like Brian Thomas Jr., there have been at least two or three misses (Taven Bryan, Justin Blackmon, Matt Jones).
When it’s come to getting draft picks right, especially coveted first-rounders, Jacksonville has, to put it mildly, struggled. But Thomas, the No. 23 selection in last April’s draft, has been a revelation. It’s probably not a stretch to think that Thomas is the team’s best player right now as a 22-year-old with 15 games of NFL experience. He’s got 1,088 receiving yards, a total that ranks sixth in the league, along with nine touchdown catches (tied for fifth). That’s with erratic quarterback play, too.
With a little luck, the selection of BTJ, especially after trading back and still getting him, will be the first home run pick in a new era. It’s the holiday season, right.
3. Better free agents
On the heels of a phenomenal first-round selection, has been the colossal letdown of this year’s free agent class. The headliners, Arik Armstead, Ronald Darby, Gabe Davis, Devin Duvernay, Mitch Morse and Darnell Savage, have just not delivered.
Armstead got a $43 million contract and has produced two sacks. Savage has one interception. Duvernay, signed to bolster the return game, has the worst punt return average of his career by nearly 3 yards. Darby has been just a guy and far from a serviceable No. 2 corner. Davis had more drops than touchdown catches (two) and also lost a fumble before going on injured reserve. Morse has been better than Luke Fortner but he’s still a below-league average center, according to PFF. Yep, not the best return on investment for six players who were guaranteed more than $80 million and will hurt the salary cap in 2025 if the team moves on.
The holiday wish list for 2025 means a much better free agent class. The Jaguars need some help at receiver and Cincinnati’s Tee Higgins is a free agent. Safety play has been abysmal this year but Miami’s Jevon Holland would certainly help in that area. And cornerback Tyson Campbell desperately needs an outside running mate. Minnesota’s Byron Murphy Jr. would certainly fit. He’s got six interceptions this year … one more than the entire Jaguars defense combined. Those three are probably all out of the Jacksonville budget but those are areas that the Jaguars need massive help in.
The pass rush needs some help, too, but that may be better served coming through the draft because the Jaguars have a lot of money already tied up in that position in expensive contracts (Armstead, Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, who is about to get more expensive if they re-sign him).
2. Better health
This year has been difficult in the standings but also in the medical tent. Gabe Davis and Christian Kirk were the Nos. 1 and 2 receivers heading into the season and they’ve been on injured reserve for weeks. Tight end Evan Engram was coming off a Pro Bowl season and he not only missed time for a hamstring injury early in the year but went on IR after season-ending shoulder surgery.
And of course, Trevor Lawrence. He signed a $275 million extension in the offseason and the expectation was that Lawrence would elevate his game. Well, that’s difficult to do with injuries. Lawrence suffered a shoulder injury, missed two games and then came back only to get knocked into the concussion protocol. He’s since had shoulder surgery. These are just four of the nine players currently on injured reserve.
1. Better leadership
When something’s not working, it’s just not working. And the head coach and general manager combination of Doug Pederson and Trent Baalke have passed their expiration date.
They had one superb season together, the run to the AFC south title in 2022. Since then, it’s just gone stale. The team is just 4-17 since an 8-3 start last year. And it feels like it’s time for a change in the regime.
Baalke has had his bright spots and his downright awful ones. This year’s free agent class has been atrocious. Pederson has been hailed as an offensive mind but that hasn’t been evident through the implosion of the last year and a half. Yes, he led Jacksonville to back-to-back nine-win regular seasons but this isn’t a team that’s on the rise. It’s bottomed out. He and offensive coordinator Press Taylor are leading an offense that has gotten worse each season. The franchise is married to Lawrence, for better or worse, and it needs to make his development the focus. Pederson and Taylor have shown the last year and a half that they can’t get this offense in synch.
The answer to last year’s collapse was to fire the defensive staff. Well, new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen has overseen what is arguably the league’s worst defense.