Throughout the offseason, we will be taking questions on the biggest questions facing the Jacksonville Jaguars.
You can submit your questions every week by tweeting them to the Jaguars On SI Twitter handle or by submitting them here.
This week, we take questions on Tyreek Hill, the Miami Dolphins, and the Jaguars’ offensive line.
Q: Based on the last preseason game (first game with every player healthy lol), has the Oline opinion slightly changed?
A: No, not really. They were respectively playing against 2nd- and 3rd-string defenders from Atlanta. I wouldn’t put much, if any, stock in that performance, What will determine how good they are is simply how they play in the 2024 season.
Q: When Calais arrived in Jax, the scheme was different than in AZ and he thrived, big time because of a slightly different position. Can that be true for Armstead?
A: The scheme Arik Armstead will play in Jacksonville is obviously different than the one he played in during his days with the 49ers. With that said, Armstead played 154 edge snaps in 2023, 100 in 2022, 285 in 2021, 179 in 2020, and a staggering 610 in 2019. He has played plenty of edge rusher throughout his career, so I do not think it will be that big of a change-up for him.
Q: Will the Jags first offensive play be run or pass?
A: Play-action pass to Evan Engram is my official guess. The Jaguars can use an under center formation with Engram at full-back on first-and-10 to generate some easy yardage.
Q: Predictions for Week 1 inactives?
A: I will go with Javon Foster, Tyler Lacy, Myles Cole, De’Antre Prince, and Jordan Jefferson. That is a lot of rookies, but the Jaguars’ Day 3 picks are mostly near the bottom of the depth chart.
Q: Who do you think is the most book smart Jag? Is it Oluokun?
A: I wouldn’t put my UCF degree (the Stanford of Central Florida, as it is known around my house) against his Yale degree. But the Jaguars have a lot of brilliant players.
Q: How do the Jaguars game plan for Tyreek Hill? He seems like a nightmare matchup.
A: This is an excellent question because Tyreek Hill is the matchup nightmare at wide receiver in the NFL today. We have yet to see Ryan Nielsen’s defense in the regular season, let alone against a speed demon like Hill. But the Jaguars showed throughout training camp that they are willing to live in more two-high safety sets than they did a year ago, which would task the front-four with the job of getting to the quarterback. I expect a lot of four-man rushes and two deep safeties, which seems like the best chance the Jaguars have of keeping Hill from burning them deep.
Q: What you think is the real (not the public) goal for this season for the Jags Management? They will be satisfied if?
A: If they make the playoffs. I truly believe the Jaguars’ true goal for this season is to play in the post-season. I don’t think it matters if it is another 9-8 playoff season, but I do think the Jaguars are looking for enough success to be playing meaningful games in the playoffs. If the Jaguars go 9-8 and miss the postseason, though, I do think there could be jobs on the line.
Q: If the OLine plays close or like it did last year, how do you see the season ending? Do you believe they will be much better and what should be done if they are not?
A: I think the Jaguars’ season goes as Trevor Lawrence goes, and Lawrence will obviously goes as far as the offensive line takes him. The offensive line isn’t to blame for all of his injury woes a year ago, but the line is a major reason the Jaguars’ passing game was neutered in terms of average depth of target and time in the pocket. It is also largely the line’s fault the running game was among the worst in the NFL last year.
In short, I think if the line has a repeat of last year, then you will see similar results. I don’t think anything can really be done about it, because the Jaguars have made their bed along the offensive line. No matter the results of this year, the Jaguars will still be entering next season with plenty of contracts up front expiring.
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