Tag: Gimme him

Gimme him: 1 player to steal from the Seattle Seahawks

Just imagine, if you will, Trevor Lawrence throwing the ball to D.K. Metcalf.

Since hiring Pete Carroll in 2011, Seattle has been among the top class of NFL teams. Since his first season, the Seahawks have only won less than 10 games once.

This year’s team is likely to end that streak, as it sits at just 2-5 seven games into the season. An injury to quarterback Russell Wilson hasn’t helped anything, and it highlighted some of the shortcomings that he masked while on the field.

Still, you don’t win double-digit games without some talent in this league, and the Seahawks have that. If Jacksonville had the opportunity to steal one of those talented players, the answer would be obvious: receiver D.K. Metcalf.

Metcalf is in just his third season out of Ole Miss, and somehow, this guy fell to the second round. He’s coming off a 1,300-yard campaign, and at 6-foot, 4-inches with a 40-yard dash at the NFL combine that came in at a blazing 4.33, he’s an incredibly rare combination of size, athleticism, and talent.

And he’s exactly what quarterback Trevor Lawrence needs.

Receiver isn’t exactly a weakness for the Jags. They added Marvin Jones Jr. this offseason, and he has proven to be a reliable veteran. Meanwhile, DJ Chark Jr. is a home-run threat and Laviska Shenault Jr. is a menace with the ball in his hands. But Chark is out for the rest of the season, and Meyer said this week that the team could use some more speed at the receiver position.

Cornerback turned returner turned receiver Jamal Agnew has proven to be capable of seeing No. 3 reps, and he could be that speed guy that Meyer was talking about. But Metcalf is the kind of athlete you make in a Madden player creator.

His route-running is just adequate, and he’s not going to beat you with crisp routes, but that’s not a problem. Because he’ll just get behind you with his top-end speed and Moss you if you somehow find a way to try to make a play on the ball.

Wilson’s absence has limited Metcalf’s production a bit, but that didn’t stop him from catching an 84-yard touchdown pass early in the loss to the New Orleans Saints. While Jacksonville has solid receivers, it doesn’t have a guy that can change a game like Metcalf.

That will certainly be a priority moving forward for the Jags as Lawrence continues to develop, but it sure would be nice to just snag one of the best athletes currently in the NFL.

Gimme him: 1 player to steal from the Miami Dolphins

The Jaguars need help in the secondary, and the Miami Dolphins just happen to have one of the best corners in football.

Jacksonville’s offense is still undergoing a bit of a learning curve with quarterback Trevor Lawrence. But between his positive moments and a great start to the season for running back James Robinson, the offensive group is far from the problem (though it could use another target in the passing game with the injury to D.J. Chark Jr.).

However, the defense has been a disaster so far, especially the secondary. The Jaguars have allowed big days through the air from Tyrod Taylor, Teddy Bridgewater, and Joe Burrow, and it is definitely the team’s limiting factor right now.

Jacksonville tried to address the defensive backfield in the offseason by signing Shaquill Griffin and Rayshawn Jenkins, but while solid, neither has proven to be a game-changing addition. It also drafted cornerback Tyson Campbell at the top of the second round, and though he began the year as the starter at nickel, he became a starter on the outside after the team traded away C.J. Henderson.

Jacksonville could really use another starting-caliber player here, especially at corner, and when looking at a player to steal from the Miami Dolphins, there’s one clear candidate.

Xavien Howard is one of the game’s best corners. He’s coming off an unbelievable 2020 season with the Dolphins, totaling a career-high 10 interceptions (becoming the first player since Antonio Cromartie in 2007 to do so).

He was rated by Pro Football Focus as the No. 4 cornerback in the NFL heading into the season, and he’s lived up to it so far. Though he’s not on pace to replicate his numbers from a year ago with just one pick through five games, he has 19 total tackles and six passes defensed, which ties for fourth-best in the NFL.

Howard would immediately become Jacksonville’s top corner over Griffin, and he would be a major boost to the quality of the secondary.

Obviously, this is just a hypothetical, and if the Jags want to see elite cornerback play any time soon, they will need Griffin to have a breakout season or for Campbell to develop nicely. But it’s hard not to wonder how a player like Howard could change this team.

Gimme him: 1 player to steal from the Tennessee Titans

Julio Jones would be an immediate impact player for Jacksonville’s receiving corps, though he’s a bit past his prime.

The start of the season hasn’t gone as expected for the Tennessee Titans. They lead the AFC South at 2-2, but last week’s loss to a previously winless New York Jets team was a considerable setback. The Titans were expected to be the most competent team in the division this year, and while that has been the case so far, they don’t exactly look ready to make noise in the postseason.

With that being said, it’s a much more developed roster than the Jaguars currently have, and several Tennessee players could benefit Jacksonville’s squad.

However, it’s hard to think of someone who would have a bigger impact on this team right now than receiver Julio Jones, especially after the injury to D.J. Chark on Thursday night.

Chark is expected to miss the remainder of the season, and that’s a considerable loss for a receiving corps that was already missing a playmaking go-to target. Jones may be a bit past his prime at age 32, but that hasn’t stopped him from being the Titans’ most productive pass-catcher through four games.

He has 12 catches for 204 yards, and while he hasn’t found the end zone yet, it’s hard to argue that Jones wouldn’t provide a major boost for quarterback Trevor Lawrence, especially in light of Chark’s injury.

Jacksonville still has Marvin Jones Jr., who leads the team in receiving, and second-year player Laviska Shenault Jr., who had his best game of the season on Thursday night. But neither of them exactly fits the bill of a No. 1 receiver, and the depth is questionable, to say the least, beyond that. This is why Jones would be such an intriguing fit here.

When it became clear that Atlanta was going to move on from him this offseason, some thought the Jaguars could be a contender for his services. While that didn’t pan out, it would have been a good addition at the time and would be an even better one right now.

As for the Jags fans at home, what are your thoughts? Would your choice be Jones when looking at this Titans team, or would it be someone else? Let us know in the comments.

Gimme him: One player to steal from the Cincinnati Bengals roster

Jackson Carman could be an immediate upgrade at right guard over A.J. Cann, or at the least, be a future starter at the position.

Jacksonville has a short week to prepare for the Cincinnati Bengals after a disappointing 31-19 loss to the Arizona Cardinals in which the team led at halftime but couldn’t hold on to get its first victory of the season. Now, the 0-3 Jaguars travel to take on a 2-1 Bengals team that has looked surprisingly solid to start the year with a healthy Joe Burrow back under center.

As another team in the middle of rebuilding (albeit apparently one that’s further along), the Bengals don’t have many established superstars on their roster, though they do have some promising young skill-position players like running back Joe Mixon and receiver Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

However, to find the player on Cincinnati’s roster who would have the biggest impact on the Jags’ team (especially in the future), you have to look at the offensive line. Specifically, at rookie right guard Jackson Carman.

The Bengals took Carman out of Clemson in the second round, and after playing a backup role in the first two games, he started against Pittsburgh on Sunday. On the Jaguars, he could have been starting from Day 1. He would very possibly be an immediate upgrade to A.J. Cann, who has an expiring contract after the season and has been the weak link on the offensive line so far.

With left guard Andrew Norwell also playing on an expiring contract, the future of the interior offensive line is uncertain, to say the least. But with Carman on the roster, that wouldn’t be the case. The Jags would have Cann’s replacement already on the roster and would probably be willing to let Norwell’s deal expire without an extension, whether that means addressing that position in free agency or giving Ben Bartch a chance to start.

It’s still too early in his career to determine how good Carman will end up being, but he’s a player that some thought the Jaguars would target in the draft, and after not adding an interior lineman in free agency or the draft, Jacksonville could really use him right about now.

Gimme him: One player to steal from the Arizona Cardinals

Chandler Jones is one of the best edge rushers in the game, and he’d be a night-and-day upgrade for Jacksonville’s defense.

Considering the fact that Arizona appears to be on its way to a playoff spot and Jacksonville looks to be on its way to another top-five pick, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Cardinals have a much more developed roster than the Jags at this point. In Week 4, that talent differential will likely be on full display as the struggling Jags welcome a red-hot Arizona offense to town.

And certainly, there are a number of talented guys on that offensive unit that the Jaguars would love to have on their roster, like elite receiver DeAndre Hopkins. But to find the player who would have the biggest impact for Jacksonville at this moment in time, you have to look at the defensive side of the ball.

Outside linebacker Chandler Jones is one of the game’s best edge rushers. Though he is starting to get older, the 31-year-old still notched a career-high 19 sacks in his last complete season in 2019. A torn bicep limited him to just five games last year, but he’s off to a monster start in 2021.

In Arizona’s Week 1 win over Tennessee, Jones notched five sacks, tying a franchise record for single-game sacks in the process. He didn’t earn a sack in Week 2, but he should still be in for a very productive season.

While Josh Allen has been very good for the Jags, his most productive season (10.5 sacks as a rookie in 2019) would be the worst full-season total in Jones’ entire career. That’s a level of production Jacksonville hasn’t even sniffed defensively in a long time, and he would be an immediate upgrade over the tag-team group of K’Lavon Chaisson and Jihad Ward that plays opposite Allen.

Ward has flashed as a rotational player, but Chaisson has been exceedingly disappointing as a first-round pick to this point in his career. But a Jags defense that paired up Jones with Allen would vastly improve overnight.

As for the readers at home, we’d like to know who you would snag from the Cardinals. Would it be Jones, or another player? Vote in the poll below.

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