After a franchise-worst 1-15 season that netted the first overall pick for the first time in team history, there wasn’t much for the Jaguars to do but aggressively hit the free-agent market. And aggressive, they were.
The team added several immediate impact players, namely cornerback Shaquill Griffin and receiver Marvin Jones Jr., the latter of which is considered Jacksonville’s best offseason deal, according to Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger.
Best: Wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr. — Two years, $12.5 million ($9 million total guaranteed)
Jones was incredibly reliable in his stint with the Detroit Lions, earning PFF grades between 71.9 and 76.3 in all five seasons with the team on at least 500 offensive snaps each year. His 59.1% contested catch rate since 2018 ranks fourth among 32 wide receivers with at least 50 such targets over that span. After serving as a consistently reliable go-up-and-get-it receiver for quarterback Matthew Stafford, he’ll look to do the same for 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville.
Jones also brings an important veteran presence to a wide receiver room led by D.J. Chark (24 years old) and Laviska Shenault Jr. (22).
At 31 years old, Jones is a veteran that’s a bit past his prime. But with that being said, he’s coming off a 2020 season that saw him receive career-highs in both targets and receptions, and the result was his most productive season since 2017, finishing with 978 yards.
Paired with a young receiver duo in D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault, and rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence has a nice arsenal of targets in the receiving game. However, the wide receiver room is getting a bit crowded, and that brings us to Jacksonville’s worst offseason signing, according to Spielberger.
Worst: Wide receiver/Cornerback/Special teamer Jamal Agnew — Three years, $14.25 million ($4 million total guaranteed)
While it remains to be seen if Agnew will once again be a backup wide receiver like he was in 2020 (after years serving as an end-of-depth-chart cornerback), his main contributions will likely be on special teams. Agnew ranks fourth in punt return grade (79.2) since he came into the league in 2017 and ninth in kick return grade (69.4) among qualifiers. However, $4.75 million per year is a rather hefty sum for an above-average return man, especially considering the initial reports of the deal from NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo characterized the incentives that could push the value to $21 million in total as “reachable.”
That said, the guarantees are not particularly substantial. The choice here for the Jaguars could have been a number of players, as they seemed to pay a bit more than they probably needed to for a handful of 2021 free agents, including safety Rayshawn Jenkins, among others.
A teammate of Jones in Detroit, the decision to bring in Agnew was a bit of a head-scratcher during the offseason. It’s fair to assume that the Jags see most of his value as a returner, but even then, the price tag the team is paying him would seem to indicate that it hopes he’ll contribute in the passing game, as well.
But he hasn’t exactly demonstrated that aptitude. In four seasons, he has just 16 catches for 105 receiving yards. Unless he’s going to break through and see targets over all the players above him on the depth chart, Jacksonville will mostly look to his special teams impact to justify the contract it gave him. In his career, he has over 2,500 return yards.
Overall, the Agnew signing isn’t the worst deal, but the fact that it was followed by the decision to sign Jones raises questions about how the former fits into this team.