Category: Jaguars

Jaguars 2025 free agency predictions: Will TE Luke Farrell return?

Up next in our Jaguars’ free agency predictions is tight end Luke Farrell. Will he return for the 2025 season?

Over the coming weeks with the NFL’s free agency period on the horizon, I will be taking a closer look at each of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ pending free agents and predicting whether or not each player will return or sign elsewhere.

Up next is tight end Luke Farrell. If you missed our first preview of quarterback Mac Jones, you can find that here.

Farrell was a fifth-round pick by the Jaguars in the 2021 NFL draft and he’s played a fairly big role within the offense, particularly the last two seasons, playing over 800 snaps during that span.

As a pass-catcher, Farrell has only 36 receptions in his career, including just 12 in 2024. He’s totaled 318 yards at 8.8 yards per catch with no touchdowns.

Instead, where Farrell’s biggest impact comes on offense is as a blocker. According to PFF’s metrics, 72% of Farrell’s snaps have been as a blocker over the last two seasons. And for what it’s worth, by PFF’s metrics, Farrell took a major step forward in that regard this past season.

He’s also been a regular contributor on special teams, specifically on the punt coverage and kick return units.

While the emphasis for Liam Coen is on helping Trevor Lawrence bounce back, a key part of that equation will be the Jaguars being much more consistent in the run game. A factor in that is having a tight end who is capable and can hold their own as a blocker–which Farrell can help provide.

In addition to that, the Jaguars have only three tight ends under contract for the 2025 season, so depth is very much a need as well.

Re-signing Farrell isn’t going to break the salary cap bank by any means and it won’t impact whether or not the Jaguars’ further address the position in free agency or do so in the draft.

Bringing him back sure feels like a low risk move that helps provide some stability at a position that needs more depth and in the run game, which is going to have to play a key role in the Jaguars’ success on offense.

Prediction: Jaguars’ re-sign Luke Farrell.

Here is a first look at Jacksonville Jaguars 2025 NFL draft hat

Here is our first look at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2025 NFL draft hat.

During Super Bowl week, we got our first look at what the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 2025 NFL draft hat will look like.

These are the hats that draft picks will put on when selected as they walk across the big stage.

The Fantasy Life account on X recently posted pictures of each team’s 2025 NFL draft hat. Below is a look at the Jaguars:

The embroidery that you see on the brim is the same for every team. Then, under each team’s logo is the team’s location printed out and a nice touch is the team specific pin next to the logo.

For the Jaguars, the hat has Duval county listed for the location and “Duuuval!” is, of course, one way that fans show their support for the Jaguars. The pin is of the Main Street bridge that crosses the St. Johns River in Jacksonville.

The Jaguars will enter the 2025 NFL draft holding the fifth overall selection and have 10 picks in total, providing Jacksonville with an excellent opportunity to add to this roster.

A few positions of need for the Jaguars this offseason include addressing safety, cornerback, defensive tackle, and the offensive line.

In early mock drafts, the two most popular picks for the Jaguars are cornerback Will Johnson and defensive tackle Mason Graham. Will one of those prospects be wearing this hat on draft night?

Liam Coen alludes to what position will be priority this offseason

In his introductory press conference, Liam Coen alluded to what position group may be a big priority for the Jaguars this offseason.

During his introductory press conference a few weeks back, Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coach Liam Coen alluded to what position group might end up being a big priority for the team this offseason.

“I think we would all agree that it needs to improve,” said Coen about the Jaguars’ offensive line.

Last season for the Jaguars, their offensive line unit was below-average in pass protection by ESPN’s pass-block win rate metric, ranking 19th in that category.

Of course, as we all know, an important part of success for any quarterback is having time in the pocket to go through their reads, along with having a clean pocket to throw from.

In the run game, Jacksonville again ranked 19th, averaging 4.2 yards per rush, which included the Jaguars’ running backs totaling the third-fewest yards before contact.

Trevor Lawrence would note during his end of season press conference that in order to shake the predictability that the Jaguars’ offense had in 2024, they have to be a more consistent running team.

The run game was also a big part of Coen’s success in Tampa Bay, where his offense ranked top five in scoring.

Having a steady run game to lean on helps keep the offense out of predictable long down-and-distance situations and when operating from ahead of the sticks, the entire playbook opens up for an offense, and with that, opportunities in the passing game.

“I think that when you look at, first and foremost, the offensive side of the ball, you want that unit and that group–it’s the first thing that when you break the huddle the defense sees,” added Coen of the offensive line. “I want that to mean something. We want that to mean something and it will.

“That’s a mentality, that’s personnel, that’s scheme, that’s technique, that’s fundamentals, and that’s attitude. That’s something that we need to make sure we instill.”

Along the offensive line, Brandon Scherff is set to be a free agent this offseason. While not the most popular pick, LSU tackle Will Campbell is a prospect we see mocked to the Jaguars somewhat often.

When it comes to free agency, the Jaguars rank 17th in available salary cap space with just over $32 million–although they have the ability to create more room.

A position group that needs improvement and one that’s going to be vital to the offensive success under Coen sure sounds like a recipe for additions–and perhaps some high-end ones–to be made.

“That’s where it starts,” said Coen of the trenches. “To go win playoff games and to go and do it, you’ve got to be able to run the football and stop the run, first and foremost.”

One former Jaguars player competing in Super Bowl 59 Eagles vs Chiefs

One former Jaguars player will be competing in the Super Bowl 59 matchup between the Chiefs and Eagles.

There will be one former Jacksonville Jaguars player competing in the Super Bowl 59 matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Competing in the big game and doing so for the second consecutive year will be offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor.

Taylor spent his first four NFL seasons with the Jaguars after being a second-round pick by the team in the 2019 NFL draft out of Florida.

During his tenure with the Jaguars, Taylor started all 66 regular season games–playing over 1,000 offensive snaps each year. According to PFF’s metrics, the 2022 season–Taylor’s final year with the Jaguars–was his best from a pass protection standpoint.

Taylor would then join the Chiefs during the 2023 offseason when he hit free agency. Over the last two seasons now, he has been Kansas City’s starting right tackle and was a part of their 2023 Super Bowl winning season.

One of the other small connection between the Jaguars and Chiefs is that while kicker Harrison Butker was sidelined this season with an injury, Kansas City brought in kicker Matthew Wright, who would appear in two games for them this year.

Wright would appear in 14 games for the Jaguars during the 2021 season. He is no longer on the Chiefs roster and ended the 2024 season in Tennessee.

Vikings reporter with insight on Jaguars’ Grant Udinski and work with QBs

On a recent appearance on 1010XL, Vikings’ reporter Ben Goessling provided insights into Jaguars’ OC Grant Udinski and his work with QBs.

New Jacksonville Jaguars’ offensive coordinator Grant Udinski has been a very fast riser in the coaching ranks at still just 29 years old.

Recently on the ‘Helmets and Heels’ radio show on 1010XL, Minnesota Vikings beat reporter Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune provided some insight into Udinski and the success he’s had with quarterbacks.

“He’ll say this,” said Goessling about Udinski, “‘I’m young, I don’t have kids, I don’t have a family yet, so I can be the guy, whatever hours of the day you need something, I’m here to talk with you. This is what I’m all in on and what I’m invested in.’

“That level of commitment to players is probably the thing that sticks out most about him and that’s what you’ll hear a lot of quarterbacks say about him. He will do whatever he possibly can to make a player better and have them more prepared for what they have to do on Sunday.”

Part of that commitment, as Goessling would also mention, was that last offseason and into training camp, Udinski and rookie quarterback JJ McCarthy would routinely have late night conversations, where Udinski answered whatever questions McCarthy had.

During Udinski’s time with Minnesota, he was promoted during each of the three seasons he spent with the team. And in addition to working closely with the quarterbacks, he also worked closely with head coach Kevin O’Connell.

The Vikings’ offense under O’Connell ranked ninth in points per game last season and veteran quarterback Sam Darnold would have a career year in Minnesota.

A top priority for head coach Liam Coen, Udinski, quarterbacks coach Spencer Whipple, and pass game coordinator Shane Waldron will be getting Trevor Lawrence back on track.

How to go about doing that was the main question that owner Shad Khan asked all of the head coaching candidates, and Coen’s answer helped separate him from the rest.

Of course, there’s a lot that goes into that answer, but in part, it will include building the offense around Lawrence, as Coen mentioned, and we can glean from Coen’s time with Tampa Bay that a strong run game is an important factor as well.

“How do we make Trevor Lawrence and this offense as dynamic and explosive as we can be? We’ve got to build it around him, we’ve got to make every part of this about improvement, and he will be a part of that process,” Coen said during Monday’s introductory press conference.

“He’s earned that right. I cannot respect his toughness and mentality and work ethic more than I do already from afar. This will all be about Trevor.”

Important date approaches for Jaguars and Brandon Scherff

An important date is approaching for the Jaguars and offensive lineman Brandon Scherff.

February 17th is an important date for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Brandon Scherff.

On that day, Scherff, who is currently set to be a free agent this offseason, will have his contract void. At that point, the Jaguars will have to take on $14 million in dead cap for the 2025 season, according to Over the Cap.

Dead cap are dollars that will remain on the current year’s salary cap even if that player is playing elsewhere.

The reason that Scherff has so much dead cap is because of the contract restructure that was completed last offseason and utilized four void years.

Void years are essentially fake years added to a contract for salary cap purposes. Those added years are not a contract extension, but rather they allow teams a longer runway to spread salary cap charges out.

The benefit in the now is that it lowers a player’s current cap hit. The downside, however, is that when the contract terminates down the road, all of those cap charges that were pushed to the void years accelerate and come due on the salary cap books.

To avoid this, the Jaguars and Scherff can agree to an extension before February 17th, which would allow the team to then spread those cap charges out over the life of the deal, rather than taking it all on this year.

Once that February 17th date passes, if a new deal hasn’t been reached, the Jaguars are still able to re-sign Scherff. However, at that point, in addition to taking on the cap hit from the new deal, that aforementioned dead cap hit of $14 million is still on the books as well.

So if an extension isn’t reach soon, then it probably becomes more likely that Scherff won’t be returning.

Given that the Jaguars’ offensive line play has to improve, there is value in bringing back Scherff and his experience. However, there’s also a financial motivation for the Jaguars to bring him back as well.

Jaguars free agency predictions: Will QB Mac Jones return?

Up first in our Jaguars’ free agency predictions is QB Mac Jones. Will he return for the 2025 NFL season?

Over the coming weeks with the NFL’s free agency period on the horizon, I will be taking a closer look at each of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ pending free agents and predicting whether or not each player will return or sign elsewhere.

Up first, let’s start with quarterback Mac Jones.

The Jaguars acquired Mac Jones last offseason via a trade from the New England Patriots. With Jones playing out the final year of his rookie deal, it was an inexpensive contract for the Jaguars to take on, with a cap hit of only $2.78 million, according to Over the Cap.

With Trevor Lawrence missing time due to injuries, Jones saw quite a bit of action, appearing in 10 games, including seven starts.

He would finish the season completing 65% of his throws at 6.4 yards per pass–ranking 34th in that category–with seven touchdowns to eight interceptions. The Jaguars offense would eclipse the 20 point mark in just four of those games.

The tricky part here when making this prediction is that quarterback is very much a need for the Jaguars. As of now, Lawrence is the only quarterback under contract for the 2025 season.

There were 44 quarterbacks in the NFL in 2024 who had at least 146 dropbacks. Of course, not all of that was injury related, some of it is poor play, but it also goes to show that almost half of the NFL had to rely on a secondary quarterback option to play significant snaps this past year.

But on the flip side of that, when a team has an established quarterback like Lawrence, how much are the Jaguars willing to invest cap-wise into the backup quarterback role, when there are obviously more pressing needs to address?

That’s the question that the next general manager will have to answer and a balance that he’ll have to strike.

Having said all of that, my prediction is that Jones signs elsewhere this offseason. There are a lot of teams who will be looking to drum up some quarterback competition or have question marks around their current starter and I think someone with Jones’ experience will get more from another team than what the Jaguars will be willing to pay–especially with Jones being a former first round pick. With that usually comes multiple opportunities.

Prediction: Mac Jones signs elsewhere.

Do Jaguars have to address safety in free agency instead of draft?

Do the Jaguars have to address the safety position in free agency rather than in the draft?

Safety is among the biggest positional needs that the Jacksonville Jaguars have this offseason. However, when it comes to finding immediate help, the Jaguars may not be able to rely on the draft for that.

ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid recently updated his top 50 prospect big board for the 2025 NFL draft, and included were only two safeties: Georgia’s Malaki Starks and South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori.

With the fifth overall pick, taking Starks at that point–as good as he is–may be too soon. Emmanwori is also getting first round buzz, so he may not be on the board when Jacksonville is picking in the second round.

So just like that, we might be into Round 3 before the Jaguars have the opportunity to add a safety.

One remedy to this, if the Jaguars really like Starks, is they could trade down from the fifth pick to take him while accumulating some additional draft capital in the process. However, we have no idea if that option is even in play.

Given the outlook of the safety position, if the Jaguars are evaluating it somewhat similarly to Reid, then addressing the need in free agency would be the prudent move, to ensure that they are getting some sort of help on the back end.

According to ESPN’s Michael DiRocco, the Jaguars defense allowed 22 plays of at least 30 yards in 2024 and eight plays of at least 50 yards.

Overall, the Jaguars’ secondary ranked in the 30th or worse in interceptions, passer rating, and yards per pass attempt, and were 24th in completion rate.

In addition to that, Andre Cisco, who has had good ball production during his career is set to be a free agent–which only adds to the need. Still under contract at the safety position for the Jaguars are Darnell Savage, Andrew Wingard, Daniel Thomas, and Antonio Johnson.

If the Jaguars do want to explore free agency, some of the top available safety options, according to PFF, include Jevon Holland, Talanoa Hufanga, Camryn Bynum, and Justin Reid. Of note, Holland did play with new Jaguars’ defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile with Miami.

No team wants to enter a draft feeling like they have to draft a specific position. That reduces flexibility and can lead to team’s reaching in order to fill that need.

Given the need that the Jaguars have at safety, the prudent move would be to address it–at least to some extent–in free agency so doing so right away in the draft isn’t a must.

Reacting to Jaguars picks in 7-round 2025 NFL mock draft

Let’s break down the Jaguars selections in a new seven-round 2025 NFL mock draft from Pro Football Network.

Who did the Jacksonville Jaguars end up selecting in this seven-round 2025 NFL mock draft?

It’s not often that at this stage of the pre-draft process do we see a full seven-round NFL mock draft. So when one does pop up, we’ve got to break down and react to each of the Jaguars’ selections.

Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network recently made each pick for all 32 teams over the full seven rounds of the draft. Here is who he had the Jaguars taking and what you need to know:

Pick 5: Will Campbell, OT, LSU

Mason Graham is a popular pick for the Jaguars here, but he was off the board already. So the Jaguars instead bolster their offensive line, a position group that Liam Coen said does have to improve. Campbell can add competition at tackle or he can play guard. A more consistent run game for the Jaguars will be a key part of their turnaround on offense.

Pick 36: Jalen Royals, WR, Utah State

Cummings mentions that Royals would bring an “all-around” skill set to the receiver position. Royals had 1,084 yards in 2023 and totaled 839 yards in only seven games last season. He was one of the standout performers at this year’s Senior Bowl.

Pick 70: Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas

There have been a lot of mock drafts where Barron is a first round pick–so I’m not sure how he’s available here. Barron was excellent last season, allowing a completion rate of just 54%, only 7.8 yards per catch, and had five interceptions along with nine pass breakups.

Pick 88: Alfred Collins, IDL, Texas

“An explosive, power-generating brawler with untapped potential,” wrote Cummings. Collins’ bread and butter is as a run-stuffer in the middle of a defensive front, an area where the Jaguars can use additional help.

Pick 106: Dylan Fairchild, G, Georgia

Success for any offense starts in the trenches, and as mentioned, that’s an area for the Jaguars that must improve. Fairchild has graded out as an above average run-blocker by PFF’s metrics but has been particularly good in pass protection, allowing just one sack and 14 pressures over the last two seasons combined.

Pick 125: Cody Simon, LB, Ohio State

There may not be another position group on the Jaguars defense that benefits more from the addition of Anthony Campanile than the linebackers. Simon was a productive blitzer and among the best linebackers against the run by PFF’s metrics.

Pick 143: Woody Marks, RB, USC

Marks was extremely dynamic as a ball carrier, totaling 1,133 yards in 2024 on 5.7 yards per attempt. He was also a factor in the passing game with 54 targets and as we saw from the Tampa Bay running backs last season, being able to impact the passing game was an important part of Liam Coen’s offense.

Pick 184: Luke Lachey, TE, Iowa

Lachey was a big part of the Iowa run game, often utilized as a blocker. As mentioned, run game success will be crucial for the Jaguars’ offense and having a tight end who can hold his own as a blocker will be a big part of that equation. In 2024, Lachey had 28 receptions at 8.3 yards per catch.

Pick 223: Tyler Shough, QB, Louisville

The Jaguars will have to add at quarterback this offseason with Trevor Lawrence currently the only player under contract at that position. Shough had a career year in 2024, completing 62% of his passes for 3,191 yards with 23 touchdowns to six interceptions.

Jaguars announce 2025 coaching staff under Liam Coen

The Jaguars have announced their full 2025 coaching staff under head coach Liam Coen.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have announced their full coaching staff for the 2025 NFL season:

Head Coach Liam Coen
Offensive Coordinator Grant Udinski
Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile
Special Teams Coordinator Heath Farwell
Pass Game Coordinator Shane Waldron
Quarterbacks Coach Spencer Whipple
Offensive Line Coach Shaun Sarrett
Wide Receivers Coach Edgar Bennett
Tight Ends Coach Richard Angulo
Running Backs Coach Chad Morton
Offensive Pass Game Specialist John Van Dam
Assistant Wide Receivers Coach Tyler Tettleton
Defensive Line Coach Matt Edwards
Linebackers Coach Tem Lukabu
Defensive Backs Coach Anthony Perkins
Secondary Coach Ron Milus
Assistant Defensive Line Coach Derrick LeBlanc
Assistant Linebackers Coach Kevin Wilkins
Assistant Defensive Backs Coach Drew Lascari
Defensive Assistant Mario Jeberaeel
Assistant Special Teams Coach Luke Thompson
Assistant to the Head Coach Jay Kaiser
Assistant to the Head Coach ElizaBeth Harrison

Many of these positions had reportedly already been filled, but there are a few notable additions to highlight among the position coaches.

This includes Shaun Sarrett being named the offensive line coach. Sarrett was one of several candidates who interviewed for this role, along with Rams’ assistant offensive line coach Zak Kromer.

The 2024 season was Sarrett’s first with the Vikings. Behind the Minnesota offensive line, the Vikings would rank 15th in ESPN’s run-block win rate metric and second in pass-block win rate.

Before joining the Vikings’ coaching staff, Sarrett was the LA Chargers assistant offensive line coach from 2021-2023 and the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line coach from 2019-2020.

As reported, the Jaguars are retaining assistant special teams coach Luke Thompson. Jacksonville has steadily fielded one of the top special teams units by PFF’s metrics under Thompson and Heath Farwell over the last three seasons.

Also of note, Chad Morton has been named the running backs coach. Morton was the Chicago running backs coach in 2024 and before that, he was the Seattle running backs coach from 2017-2022.

Last season, Bears’ running back D’Andre Swift totaled 959 rushing yards–the second-highest mark of his career. He would also total a career-high 1,345 total yards.

Lastly, Edgar Bennett has been named the team’s wide receivers coach. Bennett has been the Raiders wide receivers coach since 2018. Before that, he was the Packers’ offensive coordinator for three seasons.

Under Bennett’s guidance in 2024, receivers Jakobi Myers and Tre Tucker each had career years. Myers would eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the first time and Tucker totaled 539 yards–the third-most on the team.

(This article will continue to be updated with additional information.)