Three questions about the Jaguars’ roster following the 2024 NFL draft

After dishing out over $188 million in guarantees to cornerstone edge rusher Josh Allen and a deep free agent class, paired with the additions of nine NFL draft picks and a handful of undrafted prospects, Jacksonville’s roster is shaping up with training camp just under three months away.

But while the Jaguars patched up several holes on their depth chart over the past two months, a few questions remain about the state of the roster as the 2024 season approaches.

Jaguars Wire presents three below.

Different year, similar approach to edge rush in the draft. Will Jacksonville sign a pass rusher before the season?

Despite entering the draft with a need for depth at edge rusher for the second year in a row, Jacksonville walked out of the selection ceremony with only a seventh-round pick devoted to the position.

It was used on Myles Cole from Texas Tech, who offers physical and athletic upside but averaged fewer than one sack per season over six years and 59 games in college.

Last offseason, the Jaguars took Louisville EDGE Yasir Abdullah in the fifth round. The 6-foot-1, 234-pounder appeared in just five games and was a healthy scratch for most of the season.

Jacksonville boasts one of the NFL’s better edge-rushing tandems with Josh Allen now under contract long-term and 2022 No. 1 overall pick, Travon Walker, having reached 10 sacks in his second season in the pros in 2023.

But its depth is largely unproven, consisting of Cole, Abdullah and free agent signee Trevis Gipson, who peaked with seven sacks in his second NFL season in 2022 but has produced four over 25 games since. To limit the damage of a potential injury to Allen or Walker, more help is needed.

The biggest difference between this and last offseason for Jacksonville is the salary cap space it has available post-draft: $27,525,857, according to Over the Cap, compared to $14,035,022 in 2022, per Demetrius Harvey of the Florida Times-Union.

To pair, plenty of playable edge rushers remain on the free-agent market.

That group includes but is not limited to Dawuane Smoot, who was with the Jaguars in 2023, Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree (from Atlanta), Yannick Ngakoue (Chicago), Shaq Lawson (Buffalo), Jerry Hughes (Houston), Charles Harris and Romeo Okwara (Detroit), Emmanuel Ogbah (Miami) and Markus Golden (Pittsburgh).

Each of these players was on the field for at least 20% of their former team’s snaps in 2023, per OTC. Campbell, Dupree and Ngakoue each topped 50%.

Did the Jaguars add enough to their offensive line?

Nov 12, 2023; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line huddle around quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) before a play during the first quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-USA TODAY Sports

According to Pro Football Focus, Jacksonville ranked No. 21 in the NFL with a regular season pass-blocking grade of 59.6 out of 100 in 2023. Its 40.6 run-blocking grade was the second-worst in the league.

Yet Jacksonville retained its entire line this offseason, allowing only veteran guard Tyler Shatley to hit free agency in March. He ultimately re-signed with the club in April. Guard Ezra Cleveland, a 2023 midseason trade acquisition, and Blake Hance, a versatile backup, inked new deals before the new league year.

The Jaguars so far have opted against the $17.3 million in cap savings they can generate this year by releasing left tackle Cam Robinson, who missed 13 games including the postseason over the last two seasons, due to multiple injuries and a suspension.

Additionally, they restructured guard Brandon Scherff’s contract to guarantee his 2023 salary yet create $12.4 million in cap space.

The only changes Jacksonville made to its offensive line this offseason were two additions of varying degrees.

Veteran center Mitch Morse signed with the team in March, after his release from Buffalo and before free agency, and is likely to replace 2023 starter Luke Fortner. Offensive tackle prospect Javon Foster was one of the franchise’s two fourth-round picks in the 2024 NFL draft last week.

Effectively, the lone adjustment Jacksonville made to its starting blocking corps was Morse’s addition. The unit’s depth was bolstered with Fortner joining the second team and Foster contending for the swing tackle role, but otherwise, the Jaguars’ offensive line will largely look the same in 2024 as last year.

Will it perform better as a relatively continuous and ideally healthier front five? Or should Jacksonville have made further tweaks to the starting lineup this spring? Time will tell.

What does Brian Thomas Jr.’s selection mean for Zay Jones?

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Zay Jones (7) scores a touchdown against Dallas Cowboys linebacker Anthony Barr (42) during the second quarter of a regular season NFL football matchup Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Jki 121822 Cowboys Jags Cp 16

Jacksonville’s wide receiver room currently consists of a first-round pick and four free-agent signings, two from this offseason and two from years past.

The veterans will combine to account for over $40 million on the Jaguars’ cap table this season. Only one of them has produced a 1,000-yard season in their careers, Christian Kirk, who was on pace for his second in as many seasons with Jacksonville before a year-ending injury in 2023.

Davis and Duvernay were signed this offseason. The former is set to start opposite the rookie, Brian Thomas Jr., and the latter will serve as the team’s return specialist while offering depth offensively.

What will that mean for Jones, who carries a $10.7 million cap hit into the season after appearing in just nine games last year? After a productive 2022 campaign in which he set career-highs of 82 receptions and 823 yards, Jones caught only 34 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns in 2023.

At best, Jones projects as Jacksonville’s wide receiver No. 4 after the draft, a depth position Duvernay is also qualified to occupy with 24 career offensive starts under his belt. 2023 sixth-round pick Parker Washington, who played in nine games as a rookie, could also be a candidate.

With the potential to sign additional free agents and quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s anticipated mega-contract extension left to be accomplished, it’s fair to wonder if Jacksonville will part ways with Jones in the coming months to create cap space. His post-June 1 release would yield $7,735,294 in cap savings and $3,017,334 in dead cap money in 2024.