Jacksonville Jaguars open 2022 free agency with big-money deals

The Jaguars had a ton of capital to open 2022 NFL free agency, and it looks like they’re spending it well. With these moves, Jacksonville seems poised to make a jump after a 3-14 season in 2021.

The Jacksonville Jaguars were back in the basement again during the 2021 season, as their 3-14 campaign has them picking No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft in back-to-back years. In the meantime, the team is looking to improve in free agency.

It’s still early in the process, but Jacksonville is coming out hot to start the offseason. As the NFL’s legal tampering period opened Monday, the Jags opened the Doug Pederson era by agreeing to deals with WR Christian Kirk, LB Foye Oluokun, guard Brandon Scherff, and DT Foley Fatukasi.

These moves seem to help the Jags beef up their toughness by adding strong contributors who primarily dwell in the trenches, while also adding pieces around 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence.

Oluokun came off a major 2021 season, as he led the league with 192 total tackles (102 solo), to go along with three interceptions and six passes defended. That was the former Ivy Leaguer’s second straight 100-tackle season, as the Yale product had 117 total tackles, two INTs, and four forced fumbles in 2020.

He has improved tremendously in pass coverage as well, as Oluokun had passer ratings allowed when targeted of 87.8 and 89.9 in ’20 and ’21, respectively.

Scherff is intriguing as well, as the five-time Pro Bowler has recorded a PFF grade of 72.5 or higher in each of his seven NFL seasons. A first-team All-Pro in 2020, the Iowa product is clearly one of the top interior o-linemen in football.

All he has to do is prove he can stay healthy — since 2017, Scherff has missed at least two games each year, including six in 2021. One other stat of note is Scherff has only been called for holding three times in 25 games since 2020 (including the postseason).

The most important thing is adding him to protect Lawrence, as the latter was sacked 32 times last season (tied for the 11th most total in the NFL).

Kirk may be the flashiest add here. The former Cardinal had career-highs with 982 yards and 77 receptions, in addition to five TDs, in 2021. He was a favorite of Kyler Murray’s as he also garnered career-bests of a 112.2 passer rating when targeted and a 74.8% catch rate. The Texas A&M product should take over for the Jags in the slot right away, as he played 406 snaps (49% of his snaps) in that alignment in ’21.

Fatukasi may be the most underrated move of them all. Stats really don’t quantify how much of a space-eater the four-year pro was for the New York Jets. Although his PFF grade was down a bit in 2021 (61.5), Fatukasi had elite grades in 2019 and 2020, coming in at 81.6 and 80.5, respectively.

There’s no denying that Jacksonville is taking swings to improve its team. But only time will tell if the team will get the return on these investments.