It was inevitable. The Jaguars had a difficult decision to make. With little cap room, use the franchise tag on Evan Engram, or Jawaan Taylor. With the Jaguars choosing to use the franchise tag on Engram (the right decision in my opinion), the likelihood that Taylor would sign elsewhere has come to fruition. Taylor has become a member of the defending Super Bowl Champion, the Kansas City Chiefs. What should the Jaguars do to protect Trevor Lawrence’s blindside this off-season?
Jawaan Taylor Leaving Jaguars for Chiefs Leaves Big Shoes to Fill
Of any position on the offensive line, the left tackle position is arguably the most important, protecting the quarterback’s “blindside”. This sentiment only changes when a team has a left-handed quarterback, and then the right tackle (blindside tackle for the left-handed quarterback), becomes arguably the most important position on the offensive line. The offensive line of a football team is an enigma, in that, it can be the most important component of a team’s success, or it can be just good enough to get by, and still generate success for a team, on the field. Successful offensive tackles have been drafted in the first round (Football Hall of Famer Orlando Pace) and have been signed as undrafted free agents (two-time All-Pro Jason Peters, a converted tight end).
The point is, drafting a tackle in the first round may guarantee success, but not necessarily. Similarly, signing an undrafted free agent could also prove to be a success, but it is less likely it works out that way. Essentially, drafting a lineman is a paradigm. Trevor Lawrence’s blindside must be protected for the Jaguars to continue to build on the momentum of winning consistently that they started in the second half of last year.
With Jawaan Taylor leaving for the Chiefs, the Jaguars do have a void that needs to be filled. How they choose to fill his position will be an interesting scenario to watch.
The Draft
The Jaguars biggest needs are on defense; there is no doubt about that. They do have nine picks in the upcoming draft, and since drafting a lineman can be somewhat of a crapshoot, it is likely that later-round picks will be used on the left tackle position. It is in the Jaguars best interests to address the needs on defense in the draft first (edge, cornerback, defensive tackle, safety). If the Jaguars were to use their first four draft picks for defense, this would leave them five picks to potentially use to address the left tackle position (Round 4, Picks 121, 127; Round 5, Pick 161; Round 6, Picks 179, 208; Round 7, Pick 228).
Given the limited amount of cap space the Jaguars have (right now) even with saving 13.1 million by cutting Shaquill Griffin, the most economically advantageous thing would be to use at least two of these picks on offensive tackles. If the Jaguars were to use two of these picks, here is who they could be targeting.
Richard Gouraige-Florida, 6’5, 306 lbs
The Jaguars could keep the Florida product in-state and take him in the fourth round, as he is projected to be between a 3-5 round pick. Gouraige played primarily at left tackle for the 2022 season.
Jordan Morgan-Arizona, 6’5, 306 lbs
Morgan seems to be a bit more of a project than Gouraige, but has the physical characteristics and potential to be a quality left tackle for the Jaguars as well.
Free Agency
Though they still have limited cap space, that does not necessarily mean the Jaguars do not sign a free agent. What is interesting is the players that have been brought up the most were themselves late-round draft picks, and in one instance an undrafted free agent. Jermaine Eleumunor was a fifth-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft. George Fant was an undrafted free agent in 2016. This goes back to the point about offensive linemen being a bit of a paradigm.
In Conclusion
In some sense, one of the objectives of the offensive lineman is to take up space (there was a reason a sumo wrestler was brought in to play an offensive lineman in the movie The Replacements). They also have to be agile and dynamic enough to be able to pull, pop out on pass protection, and strong and powerful enough to push their opponents downfield, while run-blocking.
With that said, it should not be a hard position to fill. There are approximately 893 college football programs in the United States alone. On a depth chart, there are two to three strings for each position. That means there are approximately 893 starting left tackles in the United States alone, and approximately 2,679 (893 x 3) college-caliber left tackles, in this draft class alone. Now add in free agents, and players who may get either their first, or another chance to play in the NFL, from the XFL and USFL, and finding one player out of those 2000+, should not be as difficult as people think it has to be, especially considering,offensive lineman (typically) know how to play more than just one position on the offensive line. No doubt Jawaan Taylor will be missed, but not as much as Jaguars fans think he will be.
Main Photo: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
