The direction the Jacksonville Jaguars will choose to go in with the first overall pick remains a mystery. There are a few different schools of thought here, with some wanting to take an edge rusher, some wanting to take an offensive tackle, and others wanting to trade back to potentially get a playmaking receiver.
There will definitely be a long evaluation process ahead for this staff, but some quotes from new coach Doug Pederson in an interview with 1010XL’s Hays Carlyon may have given some hints at where the team is currently leaning.
“I still believe that games are won and lost in the trenches, honestly,” Pederson said when asked about the importance of protection up front. “You’re not going to have a passing attack if you can’t protect the quarterback. I believe in throwing the football, I think you throw to score and run to win. That’s kind of my philosophy in this deal.
“Teaching a young quarterback like Trevor how to really throw the football and be a great passer in the NFL, but if you don’t have the guys up front to protect him it’s just hard. It makes it really hard.”
While there are several ways to interpret this, it could be a signal that the team is heavily considering taking an offensive tackle like Evan Neal with the first pick. Granted, the team could still choose to re-sign left tackle Cam Robinson this offseason, which would all but guarantee it goes in a different direction.
But Robinson didn’t have the kind of season you would like to see from a guy in a contract year, and he will likely want to become one of the more highly paid tackles in the league. If Jacksonville doesn’t want to pay up, it could land his replacement in Neal (or a player like Ikem Ekwonu or Charles Cross). They could also put Walker Little at the left tackle position after how he performed when Robinson was out (and still draft a tackle).
We’ll have a much better idea of which direction the team is planning on going after free agency. We’ll know Robinson’s fate and there will hopefully be fewer areas of need after making some signings. For now, though, it’s clear that Pederson recognizes the importance of building a competitive offensive line to protect Lawrence.
