Jacksonville did a lot this offseason to bolster both the offense and the defense, but the most momentous move was the decision to draft quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick. For the first time in decades, the Jaguars have a franchise quarterback, but his play as a rookie will be largely determined by other variables around him, most notably the play of the offensive line.
The Jaguars have one of the league’s more experienced units, and it allowed for rookie running back James Robinson to finish fifth in rushing in 2020. Now with another playmaker in the backfield in first-round pick Travis Etienne, the play of the offensive line will be key this season, both in establishing the run and protecting Lawrence.
According to Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon, the Jags have two “X-factors” in 2021, and they both play along the offensive line. While the interior of the Jags’ line is solid, there are a bit more questions at the tackle spots. The team chose to franchise tag Cam Robinson this offseason, and his play hasn’t quite lived up to his payday this year. But the team was desperate to make sure it had a starting-caliber player along the blindside, and Robinson fits that bill.
On the other side is Jawaan Taylor, who was the Jags’ second-round pick in 2019 and has great potential. The former second-round pick is listed as an X-factor, alongside Robinson.
We’re cheating here and giving you two relatively young second-round picks who will start at the same critical position and be charged with making sure Trevor Lawrence’s rookie season is less dangerous than Joe Burrow’s was with the Bengals in 2020.
PFF ranked the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive line in the bottom 12 last year, and much of that had to do with the fact that offensive tackles Cam Robinson, 25, and Jawaan Taylor, 23, didn’t get the job done.
But the Jags are rolling with the status quo for Lawrence. They somewhat surprisingly hit Robinson with the franchise tag, and they seem to be hoping Taylor can break out in his third season. They did draft offensive tackle Walker Little in Round 2, but he’s got a small college sample and a large injury history, so they’re putting most of their eggs in baskets belonging to Robinson and Taylor.
If both can put it together in Urban Meyer’s offense, Lawrence will have a good chance of meeting expectations as a rookie No. 1 overall pick. If not, he could be running for his life for much of 2021.
Though Jacksonville certainly could have upgraded at tackle this offseason with players like Trent Williams and Orlando Brown, none of those options worked out or came at a reasonable cost by the Jags’ standards. In Robinson, the team at least secures a guy who is capable of getting the job done. Taylor has much more of a future on the team, but he needs to take a step up this season.
Expectations are high for Lawrence as a rookie, even though he’s inheriting a team that went 1-15 last year. But if he’s going to meet (or exceed) those expectations, he’ll need some help. And that will start with the players tasked with blocking premier NFL edge rushers in Robinson and Taylor.