Jacksonville Jaguars, Nick Foles need playmaker to step up

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on a mission to prove to the public which of the past two seasons was the fluke, and which was the outlier.

Welcome to a Tale of Two Seasons: Jacksonville Jaguars edition. Behind door No. 1 was the 2017 campaign, when they made their meteoric rise, winning 10 games, seven more than the previous year and the most in a decade, led by a dominating defense that came one blown call away from the franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

Behind door No. 2 is the 2018 campaign, when the Jaguars suffered a meteoric fall, dropping back to a 5-11 record, triggered by an anemic offense, a slew of injuries and excessive internal drama (like this heading into the season or this toward the end).

The biggest turning of the page was moving on from quarterback Blake Bortles, who spent the better part of five seasons tantalizing the First Coast with his unquestionable talent and infuriating fans with his very questionable decision-making abilities.

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The great unknown for Jacksonville is now whether the next chapter leads to a happy ending or the continuation of a horror story. The only certainty at this time is adding Cinderella as the new protagonist.

Former journeyman-turned-Super-Bowl-MVP Nick Foles comes to town as one of the highest character players with one of the highest football IQs in the league. After two consecutive seasons of taking over for an injured Carson Wentz and miraculously leading the Philadelphia Eagles deep into the playoffs, the Jags are banking (literally) that the magic will continue come September.

But how, or if, that magic will manifest itself remains a mystery for now. In Philly, Foles had the benefit of proven veteran targets to rely on, such as Pro Bowlers Zach Ertz, Alshon Jeffery and Darren Sproles. Playing behind a brick wall of a pedigreed offensive line didn’t hurt, either. Traveling 850 miles south down I-95, he now finds himself entering unchartered territory, with the main mystery being which of the slew of homegrown options he can rely on.

There’s Keelan Cole, who showed great promise in 2017 with 748 yards with an impressive 17.8 yards per catch, only to see those numbers drop to 491 and 12.8, respectively. There’s Dede Westbrook, the team’s de facto Swiss army knife, who tallied 66 receptions and five touchdowns in his rookie campaign but also displayed some concerning inconsistencies.

Also in the fold is D.J. Chark, drafted two rounds higher than Westbrook and clearly gifted physically, but trending in the opposite direction following an extremely disappointing start to his career. The best hope for the Jaguars could come by turning back the pages of time with Marqise Lee, who had proven to be one of the more reliable possession receivers in the league before tearing his ACL and missing all of last season.

This year, the Jags drafted tight end Josh Oliver, who presumably inherits the starting role at a position that has delivered a whole bunch of nothing lately. They also selected running back Ryquell Armstead, who will be thrust into a backfield just as full of question marks.

The biggest one of those questions pertains to the volatile Leonard Fournette. The fourth overall pick in 2017 began his NFL tenure as a workhorse, garnering over 23 touches per game while amassing over 1,300 total yards and 10 touchdowns.

That effort was subsequently followed with a banged-up 2018 that saw him average 3.3 yards per carry over eight games, along with his share of issues on and off the field. In addition to Armstead, that may open things up for free agent pickups Alfred Blue and Thomas Rawls, who, like their new quarterback, are both former starters now looking for redemption.

Meanwhile, the offensive line, laden with youth and potential, is equally unproven. That probably fell low on the pitch list when selling the 30-year old, immobile Foles on the opportunity.

What did likely sell him was the chance to prove that he can still work his magic and be the hero, this time for a full season, for a city starving for a perennial winner, for a team vying to get its identity back. But every hero needs a reliable sidekick. The plot thickens as the story unfolds on who that will be.