The Jacksonville Jaguars entered free agency hoping to chart a new direction for the franchise after the failed Urban Meyer experiment. New head coach Doug Pederson has a lot of issues to fix on this roster, and the front office may have tried to patch up some of those issues with high-priced free agency additions. Here’s what the Jaguars have done in free agency so far, and how the moves will impact their 2022 campaign.
Jaguars players added
The Jags made a ton of major money moves early on in free agency, filling Important needs and improving at key positions. They upgraded their pass-catching corps, inking deals with Christian Kirk, Zay Jones and Evan Engram from the Cardinals, Raiders and Giants respectively.
They signed free-agent LB Foye Oluokun, who led the NFL in tackles last season with the Atlanta Falcons. His speed will bring a nice new dynamic to the front seven in Duval. Another defender the team spent bank on was Foley Fatukasi, a DT known for his run-stuffing abilities.
Jaguars players lost (as of March 16)
The biggest name departing from Jacksonville is LB Myles Jack. The former first-round pick has been the leading tackler for the Jags and has gotten 107 tackles in three of the last four years. But after signing Foye Oluokun, he became a bit of a salary cap casualty. WR DJ Chark is leaving Florida too, signing a deal with the Detroit Lions, but that might not be too tough for the Jags to handle considering what they added at the same position.
Grade so far
The Jags went out and immediately did more than any other team once free agency started to bolster their roster. They needed it too, as the worst team in the NFL a season ago. The new faces around to catch the ball will be huge for QB Trevor Lawrence and the defense should see at least a modest improvement thanks to Oluokun flying around the field. The roster had a long way to go to be viable in the NFL when the offseason began, but they made major strides in just a few days of free agency.
Grade: A