3 players the Jacksonville Jaguars could reunite with Doug Pederson
The Jacksonville Jaguars have hired Doug Pederson as their new head coach. Which players could he wind up bringing with him to Duval County?
After all of the waiting, the Jacksonville Jaguars have finally decided on a new head coach to replace Urban Meyer. That new head coach is none other than former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson, one of the only head coaches on the open market who has a Super Bowl win as a head coach on his résumé.
All things considered, the Jaguars could have done a lot worse here, even if the optics of their head coaching search were bad and certainly flawed.
Candidates like Dan Quinn declined to even interview with the Jaguars. Byron Leftwich, the presumed front-runner for the job and a former Jacksonville Jaguars first-round pick, dropped out of the running.
Jacksonville Jaguars could target some current/former Eagles players
With a new head coach in place, it’s always good to look at players who were recently with that coach elsewhere as players that team could potentially acquire in the near future.
While there are certainly more than just three, I want to take a look at three players the Jacksonville Jaguars could target now that Doug Pederson is the team’s head coach.
Jacksonville Jaguars target #1: Zach Ertz, TE (free agent)
At the age of 31, Zach Ertz is fresh off of a season in which he proved that he can still be a very valuable weapon for a young quarterback.
One area of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster that is severely lacking at the moment is at the tight end position.
It just so happens that one player who has already had a ton of success playing for Doug Pederson is on the open market. Zach Ertz got traded by the Eagles to the Arizona Cardinals during the 2021 season and the Cardinals unlocked the “old” Zach Ertz.
He caught 56 passes for 574 yards and three touchdowns in just 11 games with the Cardinals, and he played in all 17 games. It was the first full season Ertz has played since 2018.
With the Jaguars’ need at the tight end position as well as the opportunity for Ertz to reunite with Doug Pederson and catch passes from Trevor Lawrence, this could be a fit.