At this point in the offseason, fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars are well familiar with the team’s needs heading into the 2021 NFL Draft. After going 1-15, the offensive and defensive lines are two areas the team is expected to address in some way next week as both units will need additions if the Jags are to improve.
As expected, both units were topics in the Jags’ latest press conference where Trent Baalke and Urban Meyer answered draft-related questions from the media. With the importance of the defensive line being a topic that Meyer has emphasized in the past, it was the first unit of the two brought up Wednesday.
“The edge is a little deeper than the interior, but there are some really quality players on the inside as well,” Meyer said. “We addressed some of the needs on the defensive line in free agency; that was obviously a high need area for us. We’re not done yet, but actually today, this afternoon, we’re going to finalize—that’s one of the final pieces.
“When Trent said we’re finishing the board [earlier], that’s one of the final pieces that we’re actually working on. It’s obviously, ‘How good is your team? How good is your defensive line?’ That’s the first answer. We have some really solid pieces right now that we even believe will play better as they get a little more mature and we move on and the scheme fits some of our personnel. But that’s a great question and this afternoon we have to get that answer. It’s not completely done yet.”
The thing that stood out the most in Meyer’s statements was the part about the edge-rushing class being deeper than the interior group. That’s something several draft pundits have echoed as there are solid options to land throughout the draft, while the interior class has concerns after the first few names like Christian Barmore and Levi Onwuzurike. Only time will tell how this truly plays a role in how the Jags draft, but Meyer’s mindset appears to be somewhat similar to the draft pundits.
As for the offensive line, Meyer expressed that he believes the starting five from 2020 was a talented group, which explained the decision to keep them together. However, he added that he believes the unit can play better, which could be a message that offensive line coach George Warhop has expressed to him.
“I think that’s an obvious statement,” Meyer said when asked if there was room for competition on the offensive line. “Competition brings out the best in everyone and the way I look at our offensive line is they’re very talented people. We made a decision to go with the starting five that we had, which you’re also going to get a guy named Tyler Shatley. We’ve got some other young players that I know [Offensive Line] Coach [George] Warhop thinks very highly of.
“And like I mentioned with the defensive line, the next question you’re going to ask, ‘How’s your team? How’s your offensive line?’ And I feel like our offensive line could play much better and I believe we have the coach and I believe we have some excellent talent that we will play much better. And they’re still—our two tackles were young players, which are still coming to their own. We have some veterans inside that I feel good about. But to answer your question, we will try to help bring some competition to the offensive line with the draft; we’re planning on doing that.”
When looking at the upcoming draft class, it’s strong at offensive tackle, so the Jags may come away from it with competition for Cam Robinson and Jawaan Taylor, both of whom could use a push. At the same time, that competition might not come within the first three rounds.
As for the guard spots, it would be wise for the Jags to land help there as both of their starting guards (A.J. Cann and Andrew Norwell) have one year left on their contracts. While last year’s fourth round pick Ben Bartch can take over for Cann down the road, the Jags could use a backup plan to replace Norwell, who may not be a player the Jags want to continue with past 2021.
Only time will tell what direction the Jags go with their 10 picks next week, but it’s clear they aren’t done in the trenches. With early picks in most rounds, the opportunity to bolster their roster in the trenches certainly will be there, but it will be a matter of Baalke and Meyer making the right calls at the right moments.