Did The Jacksonville Jaguars Do Enough To Help Trevor Lawrence?

Have the Jacksonville Jaguars done enough to help out Trevor Lawrence this offseason?

After a disaster of a 2021 season, the Jacksonville Jaguars hoped to turn a corner in the offseason, to both better the roster and provide help for potential franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence. It started by hiring Doug Pederson, one of the more respected coaches around the league to provide stability.

In free agency, the Jaguars got aggressive. It started with a massive deal to get Christian Kirk, one that might have had unintended consequences with the receiver market. While Kirk isn’t a WR1 type, his explosiveness and vertical presence will certainly be welcome for Lawrence. On top of that, Jacksonville tagged (and subsequently extended) Cam Robinson and signed Brandon Scherff, who will be two important cogs on the offensive line.

Not to mention, on defense, they got a boost as well. Foye Oluokun will help a young linebacker corps, and Darious Williams will do the same for the secondary. The 2022 NFL Draft was more of the same here for the Jacksonville Jaguars, as they selected both Travon Walker and Devin Lloyd (via a trade up) in the first round.

It got a little puzzling after that, which much of the draft focused on the defensive side of the ball. They (surprisingly) added another linebacker in Chad Muma, who is a good player, but after Oluokun and Lloyd, it’s an odd pick. Combine that with two more defensive backs and a running back on day three, and it felt like something was missing.

Now, the Jaguars didn’t completely ignore offense in the draft. Luke Fortner was a third-round pick for them, a player who played all over the Kentucky offensive line in his extended collegiate career.

But, there are still questions on offense for this team. Robinson has played fine ball, but it felt like another wait-and-see year under the tag made more sense. Scherff can anchor the unit (when healthy, which is a major question). Can Ben Bartch find a role, inside or otherwise? Can Jawaan Taylor stay healthy? Will Walker Little be the guy? Also, relying on Fortner to be the “instant fix” at center probably isn’t the best process. It would’ve been nice to lock that down with a veteran (JC Tretter, etc.) rather than leave it up to a rookie or someone else.

As for the receiver room, it still lacks a true difference-maker (or two). The hope is Kirk can be the top guy, Evan Engram can be a reliable chain-mover, and that maybe, just maybe, Pederson is the guy to unlock Shenault. Travis Etienne could legitimately be the best weapon on this offense in his first season of play.

It just feels like there could’ve been more done to help out Lawrence. The offensive line is wait-and-see overall, and the pass catchers can be solid, but that isn’t good enough. If Lawrence takes a step forward, it’ll likely be of his own accord (or with Pederson’s help in a more finely tuned scheme). It’s a long rebuild, and it’s clear that the Jacksonville Jaguars are taking their time, for better or worse.