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53-man roster prediction after free agency

Now that the Jaguars have upgraded their offensive line and special teams units with free agency, what could the 53-man Roster look like?

The Jacksonville Jaguars finished free agency and look to go into the 2018 NFL season with a massive upgrade at offensive line and some new bodies at tight end — two of the most glaring needs on that side of the ball. A new slot cornerback was signed to replace Aaron Colvin as well.

But quarterback wasn’t addressed (in fact, Blake Bortles is the only quarterback on the roster) and we lost who I believe to be our best player on offense in wide receiver Allen Robinson.

As you can see, there are still some major deficiencies on the roster and the front office has some obvious needs for the 2018 NFL Draft:

  • Quarterback
  • Right guard
  • Running back
  • Tight end
  • Linebacker
  • Defensive end

Some (if not all) of those positions will get addressed in the draft. But here’s where I stand right now on what the 53-man roster looks like if these were our players going into the offseason to prepare for the 2018 season.

Quarterbacks (1): Blake Bortles

This one’s not too difficult. There’s literally one quarterback on the roster currently. Marqise Lee is literally your backup. They’re going to draft a guy and sign at least one UDFA.

Running back/fullback (5): Leonard Fournette, T.J. Yeldon, Corey Grant, Tim Cook, Tommy Bohanon

Again, it’s very obvious to see we’re going to be drafting a running back. Our No. 4 running back is a guy named Tim Cook. Who is Tim Cook? Do you know who Tim Cook is? Did I make him up? You don’t know. None of you know.

Wide receiver (6): Marqise Lee, Donte Moncrief, Keelan Cole, Dede Westbrook, Jaelen Strong, Jaydon Mickens

I think Allen Hurns gets traded between now and the draft and I think the Jaguars use that extra pick to move around in the first two rounds. Cole showed enough to warrant more time on the field next year. And I doubt they’re going to keep Westbrook buried as a No. 5 guy after half of a season coming back from abdominal injury. This team is just building towards going all in for 2018.

Tight end (4): Marcedes Lewis, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Niles Paul, Ben Koyack

While I think there’s a chance Luke Willson can still sign, without him on the roster gives Koyack the last spot. This team is going to keep four tight ends on the active roster.

Offensive line (9): Cam Robinson, Andrew Norwell, Brandon Linder, A.J. Cann, Jermey Parnell, Tyler Shatley, Josh Wells, William Poehls, Chris Reed

I say, again, this is a position they very obviously address in the draft. It’s very easy to see who’s in the top five spots and the only real weakness is right guard. Everything else is so, so good.

Defensive line (9): Calais Campbell, Yannick Ngakoue, Dante Fowler, Malik Jackson, Marcell Dareus, Abry Jones, Dawuane Smoot, Eli Ankou, Hunter Dimick

I see four starting-caliber players on that list, one guy who was productive in cleaning up sacks, one guy who lost playing time and was a liability in the run game, and three clear backups. I love our Defensive line and defensive coordinator Todd Wash got every ounce of production out of them last year, but we need interior linemen and edge rushers. We’re not picking up Fowler’s fifth-year option next year and that means Ngakoue could be our only true edge rusher in 2019.

Linebackers (5): Telvin Smith, Myles Jack, Blair Brown, Lerentee McCray, Donald Payne

This team needs a SAM linebacker in a bad way. If they have that in Brown, go get depth because this position is thin. They currently only six linebackers on the roster period.

Cornerbacks (5): A.J. Bouye, Jalen Ramsey, D.J. Hayden, Tyler Patmon, Jalen Myrick

Look for the Jaguars to grab another cornerback late in the draft. It goes downhill after the top three.

Safeties (4): Tashaun Gipson, Barry Church, Cody Davis, Don Carey

Jarrod Wilson has a chance to sneak in if they have room for another defensive back, but I just don’t see it.

Special teams (3): Colin Holba, Josh Lambo, Brad Nortman

This is due to the fact that I know nothing of Carson Tinker or Matt Overton and their rehab schedules. Sorry, everyone.



This post first appeared on Big Cat Country, A Jacksonville Jaguars Community, please read the originial post: here

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53-man roster prediction after free agency

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