Since the Jacksonville Jaguars hired James Gladstone as their general manager, they have shown that they aren't afraid to take a bold swing to address the larger scale roster. This is why it was a bit surprising to mostly sit out free agency, mainly focusing on re-signing their own players.
Then, the draft came, and the Jags defied conventions by steering clear of the consensus big board. While Gladstone is confident the strategy will work, the jury is still out. One NFL analyst, in particular, is skeptical and blasted Jacksonville for its puzzling approach to the offseason.
CBS Sports thinks the Jaguars had the worst offeason
Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports ranked the NFL teams with the worst offseasons and placed the Jaguars at No. 1, arguing that their approach to free agency left much to be desired.
"The Jags objectively got worse in free agency, losing linebacker Devin Lloyd, running back Travis Etienne, cornerback Greg Newsome II, and safety Andrew Wingard," Dajani wrote.
Dajani argues that it may be harsh to grade a rookie class before they take a snap but believes the Jags' draft haul left much to be desired. The Nate Boerkircher pick, in particular, keeps catching heat.
"In the draft, the Jaguars put together what many would call the worst class this year," Dajani wrote. "It's not fair to judge an entire draft class before the players have taken a single snap, but the picks were a bit confusing."
Still, Dajani thinks the Jaguars can win the AFC South title for the second year in a row, noting that maybe general manager James Gladstone did manage to address the larger scale roster properly.
"So the Jaguars appear to have the worst offseason in the NFL when it comes to the additions and subtractions. But I still wouldn't be surprised to see them win the AFC South again. Maybe James Gladstone is a football genius, and Nate Boerkircher is Travis Kelce."
Now, Boerkircher doesn't have to be Travis Kelce 2.0, but he most definitely has to make an impact as a rookie. The same is true for the rest of the Jaguars' draft class. If defensive tackle Albert Regis or the pass rush duo of Wesley Williams and Zach Durfee can contribute early, Jacksonville will be in a position to seize the division again.
Circling back to free agency, there's no doubt that losing Devin Lloyd and Travis Etienne stings, but the Jaguars think Ventrell Miller and Bhayshul Tuten are capable of replacing them. On the other hand, Greg Newsome struggled during his lone season in Jacksonville, so cutting ties with him isn't a big deal, especially when you take into account that Travis Hunter will tentatively play cornerback full-time next season.
The Jaguars are confident they got better in the offseason
There's no doubt it would have been great to see the Jaguars be more aggressive in free agency. Signing a No. 3 pass rusher to round out the rotation behind Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen would've been huge. Similarly, they could have fortified the interior defensive line with John Franklin Myers but opted to pass on him.
That said, Jacksonville was dealing with a cap crunch, and rather than mortgage its future, it chose to amass compensatory draft picks, which could come in handy. Moreover, the team's brass is focused on locking up its homegrown talent. Walker and long-snapper Ross Matiscik already got extensions. Wide receiver Parker Washington and tight end Brenton Strange could be next.
Coupled with the fact that the Jaguars already have a solid roster core, their dearth of splash signings in free agency makes sense. Granted, they have a handful of flaws that could hold them back next season, but they have enough talent to defend their division title and make a deep playoff run.
Ultimately, there's a reason to be skeptical about the Jaguars, but they should also get the benefit of the doubt. Once the regular season rolls out, we'll have a better picture of just how good their offseason was.
