The 2023 regular season is days away for the Jacksonville Jaguars after the team spent the offseason trying to turn an AFC South-winning roster into a Super Bowl-worthy one.
Did Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke get the job done, though?
Buy Jaguars TicketsIn free agency, the team was quiet and chose to retain its own rather than hunt for players from other teams who hit the market. In the 2023 NFL draft, the Jaguars picked three offensive players in the first two days and 10 players in the final four rounds.
The end result was a roster that strongly resembles the one from 2022, but with nine rookies in reserve roles.
With a Week 1 game against the Indianapolis Colts coming soon, here are the position groups for the 2023 Jaguars ranked from the strongest unit to what currently looks like the weakest:
Wide receivers
Any doubt about Calvin Ridley’s readiness to return to the field after nearly two years away was dulled by the receiver’s performance in training camp and preseason. It became plainly obvious that he’ll be the Jaguars’ No. 1 receiver and a real problem for opposing secondaries.
He’ll join a corps that got more than 80 receptions out of both Christian Kirk and Zay Jones in 2022.
That trio alone pushes the Jaguars receivers to the top of this list, but speedster Jamal Agnew and high-upside rookies Parker Washington and Elijah Cooks are the cherries on top.
Inside linebackers
Foye Oluokun led the NFL in tackles during his final season with the Atlanta Falcons and then did it again last year with the Jaguars. For obvious reasons, he’s the betting favorite to be the league’s tackling champ in 2023, as well.
Last year, Jacksonville picked Devin Lloyd in the first round and Chad Muma in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft. While both flashed talent during their first seasons, they were still rookies.
Putting this group second on the list is mostly due to the strong likelihood that Lloyd and Muma will take a big step forward in 2023. Camp and preseason suggested that will come to fruition.
Running backs
Travis Etienne Jr. came back from a lost 2021 to put up 1,125 rushing yards in his de facto rookie season. Despite his breakout year, the Jaguars made running back a priority in the offseason, signing former Browns back D’Ernest Johnson and drafting Tank Bigsby in the third round.
Bigsby shined in August and Johnson seemed to do enough to grab the third spot on the depth chart ahead of JaMycal Hasty.
This could easily prove to be the strongest unit for the Jaguars in 2023, but that depends mostly on how ready Bigsby truly is to provide quality reps during his rookie season.
Quarterbacks
The quarterbacks room is this high up the list for one very obvious reason: Trevor Lawrence.
The 23-year-old former No. 1 overall pick appears primed to be a perennial MVP candidate after earning Pro Bowl honors last season. Lawrence is the face of the franchise and will be for a long time.
Backing him up is C.J. Beathard, a former 49ers starter who has thrown only 13 passes in his two seasons in Jacksonville.
Safeties
The solid play of Rayshawn Jenkins and rapid ascension of Andre Cisco make for an adequate duo on the back-end of the Jaguars’ secondary. But depth may be the position group’s greatest strength.
Andrew Wingard has settled into a role as a reliable Swiss Army knife for the Jaguars and fifth-round rookie Antonio Johnson looks like a promising contributor too.
Tight ends
Former Giants first-round pick Evan Engram is one of the Jaguars’ best offensive weapons and leaders. After signing a three-year deal with Jacksonville in July, that shouldn’t change any time soon.
In April, the Jaguars added second-round pick Brenton Strange to the tight ends room that already had Luke Farrell too.
If Strange is an immediate contributor, the tight ends could be a position of strength in 2023.
Defensive line
When healthy, the trio of Roy Robertson-Harris, DaVon Hamilton, and Folorunso Fatukasi with backups Adam Gotsis and Jeremiah Ledbetter is a formidable group. It’s the healthy part that’s been the problem, though.
Hamilton will start the season on injured reserve and Fatukasi has dealt with a lot of bumps and bruises since signing with the Jaguars last year.
Any injuries in 2023 would test the defensive line’s lackluster depth. If the group stays on the field, the team could again finish top 10 in rushing yards allowed per attempt like it did in 2022.
Outside linebackers
Outside linebacker seemingly jumped out as an offseason need for the Jaguars, but the team decided not to do much at all.
Despite finishing 26th in the NFL in sacks last season, it’ll again be the duo of Josh Allen and Travon Walker starting with K’Lavon Chaisson as a rotational rusher. The only difference from last year is fifth-round rookie Yasir Abdullah will take Arden Key’s place on the roster.
There’s certainly reason to be optimistic about the group. Allen was seventh in the NFL in pressures last season even if he recorded seven sacks. Walker, the No. 1 overall pick in 2022, flashed serious potential during a mostly overwhelming rookie year.
If that duo steps it up in 2023, the Jaguars’ sack total will be much higher.
Cornerbacks
Tyson Campbell is bordering on elite entering his third NFL season. The rest of the cornerback group raises more questions than answers.
The Jaguars got quality play out of Darious Williams after moving him outside last year, but can he sustain it for an entire season? Is Tre Herndon III better suited in the slot?
After those two it’s the young trio of Gregory Junior, Montaric Brown, and Christian Braswell. All showed enough in preseason to earn their place on the roster, but each are untested, to say the least.
Offensive line
The Jaguars offensive line is the same group from 2022 with the exception of first-round pick Anton Harrison who replaced departed right tackle Jawaan Taylor.
That could be a good thing as Harrison looked like a capable player in preseason. But he’s still a rookie and there’s a reason the Chiefs wanted to give Taylor an $80 million deal.
Last year, the Jaguars allowed the fifth fewest sacks and were 10th in rushing yards per carry. However, analytics show those numbers were probably more of a testament to Lawrence and the quick-firing Doug Pederson offense than the line’s prowess.
