Are the Jacksonville Jaguars concerned with their defense?
One season after reaching the AFC title game, the Jacksonville Jaguars finished last in the AFC South in 2018. Is the team in need of more help on defense?
This offseason, Jacksonville Jaguars general manager David Caldwell and vice president of football operations Tom Coughlin have gone out and looked to improve their team in all aspects. During free agency, the onus was on an offense that finished 27th in the league in total yards per game. And one season after leading the NFL in rushing, Doug Marrone’s club slipped to 19th in that category.
A big part of the problem with the latter came with running back Leonard Fournette missing eight games. Overall offensively, quarterback Blake Bortles digressed after showing signs of progress during the team’s successful season in 2018.
Hence the signing of Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles. The club also added running backs Alfred Blue (Houston Texans) and Benny Cunningham (Chicago Bears), wide receiver Chris Conley (Kansas City Chiefs) and tight end Geoff Swaim (Dallas Cowboys).
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But for those who want to blame the club’s 5-11 finish from 2018 strictly on Bortles and the club’s offensive shortcomings, the Jaguars defense took some step backward this past season.
One year earlier, the team finished second in the NFL with 55 sacks and only the Baltimore Ravens (34) forced more turnovers than Marrone’s team (33). The defense made its share of big plays all season and in the playoffs, turning many of those takeaways directly into points.
But the Jacksonville pass rush managed only 37 sacks this past season. And the club saw that takeaway total basically cut in half (17). It’s little wonder that Caldwell and the organization leaped at the opportunity to take defensive end Josh Allen last week with the seventh overall pick when the University of Kentucky standout fell into their laps.
This offseason, the club did sign veteran inside linebacker Jake Ryan (who missed all of 2018 with a torn ACL) away from the Green Bay Packers. And now, the club has announced that it has added a trio of veterans to bolster this corps in Najee Goode (Indianapolis Colts), Ramik Wilson (Los Angeles Rams) and D.J. Alexander (Philadelphia Eagles). The club is obviously looking to add depth defensively, as well as to fortify their special teams.
Over these past two seasons, the Jacksonville Jaguars have finished second and fifth overall in total defense. In 2017, they allowed the fewest passing yards in the NFL and a year ago they were second in that department. But Marrone’s team was 21st vs. the run in 2017 and finished 19th this past season in the same department.
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Perhaps there’s a little more to be worried about with this club than just the offense. And the front office’s moves this offseason in terms of the front seven seem to indicate that as well.