Jaguars eye roster continuity, draft to build off 2022 success

Ben Arthur

AFC South Reporter

How the Jaguars plan to continue ascending with quarterback Trevor Lawrence can be best summed up by one word: continuity.

Coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke spoke this week at the NFL Combine about needing to keep their core players intact this offseason. As they see it, that’s the next step to becoming perennial AFC contenders, to build off Jacksonville’s wild, breakout 2022 campaign: a divisional-round playoff berth — after a miraculous comeback victory in the wild-card round — in a season that started at 2-6.

“The whole thing for us now is about the locker room,” Baalke said, “making sure we keep the locker room where we’ve got it.”

The biggest names Jacksonville is looking to retain on long-term deals are tight end Evan Engram and right tackle Jawaan Taylor, both of whom had career years last season. A 2017 first-round pick who began his career with the Giants, Engram in 2022 set single-season franchise records for a tight end with 73 receptions for 766 yards. And Taylor’s 21 pressures allowed last season ranked second among all offensive tackles who played at least 80% of their team’s snaps in the regular season, according to Pro Football Focus.

They were integral to Lawrence’s comfort level in his second pro season — Engram as a steady target, Taylor as a reliable pass protector. The Jaguars are reportedly expected to place the franchise tag on Engram, preventing him from hitting free agency and buying the sides until July 17 to work out a multi-year deal ahead of the 2023 season.

“They know how we feel about them and I think we know how they feel about us, and there’s a win-win in there somewhere. We’ve just got to get to that,” Baalke said of re-signing Engram and Taylor. “Negotiations are ongoing. … We’ve got a nice window here before free agency starts, and our goal is to try to close those deals within that window.”

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But continuity isn’t only about the stars. It’s about the role players who helped set the foundation of a new culture in Jacksonville. Like backup quarterback C.J. Beathard, who has a firm grasp of Pederson’s offense and is a good friend and an experienced sounding board for Lawrence. The Jaguars re-signed Beathard to a two-year contract last week.

“He’s the perfect guy for Trevor because he’s a veteran guy,” Pederson said of Beathard. “You push them from the standpoint of making Trevor better, but at the same time, you’re never threatening that position. I know [C.J.] wants to play, and he had an opportunity maybe last year, potentially, with Trevor’s injury and all that. To me, that’s what makes a solid backup.”

Jacksonville also re-signed running back JaMycal Hasty, the No. 2 option to standout Travis Etienne Jr. last season after James Robinson was traded to the Jets.

“The core is not just frontline players,” Baalke said. “It’s guys at every level of the 53. Every guy on that team, when you’re talking about 53 players, every one of those players is important. C.J. and JaMycal are two guys that are key guys in that locker room. They’re key contributors not only on the field but in the community, within the leadership of the team, so there’s a lot of things that go into that. We’re glad that they’re aboard for another two years, and we’ve got a lot more work to do.”

After heavy emphasis on free agency the past couple years, the Jaguars’ priority this offseason is the draft. It’s a more sustainable approach for continued success for Jacksonville.

The team has up to eight players acquired in free agency from 2021-22 who are projected starters next season: Engram; offensive lineman Brandon Scherff; wide receivers Christian Kirk and Zay Jones; defensive linemen Folorunso Fatukasi and Roy Robertson-Harris; linebacker Foyesade Oluokun; and safety Rayshawn Jenkins. Suspended receiver Calvin Ridley, whom Jacksonville acquired at least season’s trade deadline and is expected to be reinstated this offseason, takes up a ninth spot.

Then there are the young players drafted by the franchise who are already stars and/or starters: Lawrence, Etienne, cornerback Tyson Campbell and outside linebackers Travon Walker and Josh Allen among them.

The Jaguars have the 24th-overall pick in this year’s draft, their lowest first-round selection since 2018.

“We’re at the point now where it’s draft and develop,” Baalke said. “We’ve got a nice core, a nice core of young players. I feel really good about that group, with a good mix of veteran guys with a lot of experience.”

With Jacksonville winning the AFC South last season for the first time since 2017, Pederson is hopeful that his players enter 2023 feeling pressure that they’re the team to beat in the division, that they have to perform week in and week out.

“This past year, we were just playing to win a game, then ultimately we found ourselves winning more games at the end of the season, putting ourselves in a position to win the AFC South,” Pederson said. “But now, those are the expectations that I as the head coach expect our football team to have, and that will start April 17 when we start our offseason program.

“I feel like we’ve got the right guys, the right makeup, the chemistry, the locker room is solid,” Pederson continued. “Those are the things you build on. That’s the momentum you’re talking about with those guys right there and guys that have been in Jacksonville, and they’ve kind of gone through some tough times. Now this past year, they got on the other side of that. That’s the challenge now of keeping that rolling as we head into ’23.”

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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