Jaguars 2020 team needs heading into free agency, draft
By Evan Bachman
A look at what positions the Jacksonville Jaguars should target in this offseason for free agency and the 2020 NFL draft in April.
After a somewhat disappointing 6-10 season the Jacksonville Jaguars head into the 2020 offseason with plenty of needs. They are well positioned to get a good haul in this April’s draft after trading for the Rams first round pick in the Jalen Ramsey trade. In total they have nine selections, including ninth overall and 20th overall.
As far as free agency they currently are in the negatives in terms of cap space, but they can create room by not picking up Marcell Dareus‘ $22.5 million club option, according to Spotrac. They won’t be able to go on a spending spree but doing this would give them $14.4 million in cap space, according Spotrac’s team roster & salary cap manager.
As far as which side of the ball should be addressed, both units need to be improved. The offense was 26th in the league in points per game with just 18.8, according to NFL.com. A defense that was the league’s best in 2017 with plenty of its stars still young hasn’t been able been able to match that unit’s production since and this year were 21st in points per game allowed with 24.8, according to NFL.com.
A bright spot on the season for the Jaguars was they discovered a potential franchise quarterback in last year’s sixth round pick Gardner Minshew. Minshew didn’t necessarily set the world on fire, but he blew past expectations by leading the team to a 6-6 record when starting, including three game-winning drives, putting up a 21-6 touchdown to interception ratio, and showing he’s a capable runner.
Minshew’s play last season makes for an interesting offseason question. That question is who starts at quarterback next season $88 million man Nick Foles or the intriguing, youngster Minshew? They don’t have to answer that question right now, but what they do have to do is build up a roster around them, which right now has a lot of holes.