NFL Offseason Previews: Jacksonville Jaguars

March 10, 2023, by Patrick K. Flowers NFL

The NFL offseason is upon us, and teams will begin working to craft their 2023 rosters in the coming months. In this series of offseason previews, we will look at what each team has to work with and their biggest needs. Today we continue with the Jacksonville Jaguars offseason preview.

As a reminder, here are dates to keep in mind for the 2023 NFL offseason:

March 7: deadline for teams to use the franchise tag
March 13: legal tampering period opens
March 15: NFL free agency begins and the new league year starts
April 21: deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets
April 27-29: NFL draft
May 1: deadline for teams to exercise 5th-year options on 2020 first-round draft picks
July 15: deadline for franchise tag players to sign an extension

2022 Summary

The Jacksonville Jaguars were one of the most enjoyable storylines to follow in 2022. A late-season surge and a thrilling victory over the Titans in Week 18 allowed the Jaguars to win the AFC South and return to the AFC playoffs.

Jacksonville even beat the Los Angeles Chargers, wiping away a huge first-half deficit to do so. The Jaguars lost the Chiefs in the divisional round, but it’s clear that Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars are going to be in that conversation for some time.

With a franchise quarterback and talented young pieces on both sides of the ball, their future is bright. But if they have goals loftier than simply making the playoffs, more is needed.

Key Positional Needs

Here’s where the Jaguars need to find help this offseason:

CB
S
G
C
EDGE

Key Free Agents

Here’s a look at the Jaguars upcoming key free agents:

Adam Gotsis (DE)
Tre Herndon (CB)
Marvin Jones (WR)
Arden Key (DE)
Brandon Murphy (OT)
Japan Taylor (RT)
Duane Smoot (DE)

Salary Cap & Draft Capital

Here’s a look at the salary cap room and draft capital that the Jaguars have to work with this offseason:

Current draft picks: 24 (1), 56 (2), 88 (3), 121 (4), 127 (4), 145 (5), 202 (6), 208 (6), 228 (7)
Cap space: $6.9M

Offseason Outlook

Jacksonville just added the recently reinstated Calvin Ridley to an already impressive receiving core. Couple that with the return of Evan Engram on the franchise tag, and Trevor Lawrence has a pretty impressive group of weapons in 2023.

Jacksonville will, however, need to address a few areas this offseason. They have a bunch of free agents on the offensive and defensive lines that will be free agents next week that they will likely want to re-sign or replace.

They could also use some significant upgrades in their secondary. But all in all, Jacksonville is in a pretty good spot in a soft AFC South.