After taking a strong-armed, accurate quarterback with the first-overall pick, it’s no secret that the Jacksonville Jaguars want to be a team that airs the ball out downfield. With targets in the receiving game like D.J. Chark Jr., Laviska Shenault Jr., and Marvin Jones Jr., the team will certainly have the opportunity to do that.
But some of Jacksonville’s other moves this offseason make it very clear that coach Urban Meyer doesn’t want this offense to be a one-trick pony. The team has bolstered its run game quite a bit, adding Carlos Hyde in free agency and Travis Etienne in the draft. Further, the team added two primarily blocking tight ends in Chris Manhertz and rookie Luke Farrell.
Meyer discussed these additions, and he said that he wants the team to be balanced between the rushing and passing attack.
“[In] free agency I think you see we hit that really hard with Carlos [Hyde] and [Chris] Manhertz and in the draft with Luke Farrell. We thought he was the best blocker in college. That’s one way to extend [the] run, extend the formation. I’m a big believer, I’ve always been a big believer in that, and so is Bev [Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell]. We’ve had that conversation, not recently but when I hired him, and I saw his history of balanced offense and he believes in that as well.”
Bevell is primarily known as a “quarterback whisperer” of sorts, but especially during his tenure in Seattle, he ran an offense that made good use of the run game, as well.
Starting running back James Robinson is coming off a 1,000-yard season as an undrafted rookie, and Jacksonville will almost certainly lean on him as Lawrence gets comfortable with the NFL game. And it’s clear that even once he does, Meyer wants the run game to continue to be a viable option.