Free company is approaching us. On March 14, the two-day authorized tamper window will start earlier than the beginning of the brand new league 12 months and gamers throughout the NFL will discover new properties.
After an unpredictable free agent interval final season through which the Jaguars did not goal most of the prime free brokers they have been predicted to have, there is not any telling if this 12 months might be any totally different. The phrase of mouth eventually 12 months’s Free Company course, led by then head coach City Meyer and normal supervisor Trent Balke, was “Worth”.
Will that be the case once more with Balkey again in command, this time joined by new coach Doug Pederson?
“Are we going to exit and add expertise? Sure, we’ll add expertise. We’ll add competitors. We’ll add worth to the roster. Each group is doing that, and we do not,” Pedersen stated final week.
“However I see expertise right here. I stated I believe in my opening remarks a few weeks in the past that it isn’t an in a single day repair, it’ll be one we have now to do one participant at a time, one coach at a time, and he rotated.”
In an effort to find out essentially the most cheap Free Brokers to be these gamers Pedersen referred to, we’ll undergo every set of websites to find out the most effective gamers, and rank them so as. First: extensive receivers.
Table of Contents
1) Chris Goodwin
Clearly, Davante Adams can be the #1 participant on this checklist if he had already made it to free company, nevertheless it appears seemingly that Tampa Bay extensive receiver Chris Goodwin can be the most effective free agent accessible on the place. Whereas the Jaguars will not have the attract of getting former Godwin coordinator as head coach as they’d with the hiring of Byron Leftwich, they may be capable of provide Godwin a excessive price ticket that may maintain him in Florida.
With regard to what makes Godwin the most effective Jaguars free dealership future, simply check out his ability set. He wins at each degree of the sector, capturing constant yards after looking beneath whereas having road-running prowess for midfield wins and velocity to stretch defenses deep. He is coming off an ACL harm on the finish of the season, however his monitor report in manufacturing and attributes makes him the best choice for attacking Jaguars who need assistance on all three receiving factors.
2) Mike Williams
By way of ability units that cater to quarterback Trevor Lawrence, I am undecided there is a single participant higher in free company than Mike Williams. The previous Clemson star and first-round choose has confirmed to be a lethal deep menace and red-zone goal all through his profession, as he dominated the pickup level and have become the most effective leaping ball specialist in your complete NFL.
With Lawrence’s monitor report displaying he is at his finest when throwing big-tire receivers at tall size, Williams is simply the correct man. Will give an enormous Jaguar[-play threat on the outside they need, while allowing them to focus on the underneath and intermediate areas of the offense with other players.
3) Christian Kirk
Christian Kirk had the best year of his career in 2023 as he transitioned to being a full-time slot receiver, catching 77 passes for 982 yards (12.8 yards per catch) and five touchdowns. He wouldn’t fit the Jaguars’ need for a playmaker on the perimeter of the offense but he would help improve the Jaguars’ team speed on offense by a great deal while also giving them a vertical threat out of the slot.
The Jaguars would need to figure out how to best use Kirk and Laviska Shenault at the same time since each is better off in the slot, but Kirk is still only 25-years-old and it doesn’t appear he has hit his ceiling yet. He isn’t a No. 1 receiver, but he would be a nice piece to have.
4) JuJu Smith-Schuster
While many focus on his pre-game antics, JuJu Smith-Schuster still brings a lot of positives to the table as a wide receiver. The former second-round pick who burst onto the scene in his first two years in the NFL returned to Pittsburgh last season but played in just five games. averaging 4.6 yards per target as the Steelers neutered their offense for a weak-armed and geriatric Ben Roethlisberger.
It feels like the Steelers’ offensive design and Roethlisberger’s decline are the biggest reasons Smith-Schuster’s star has faded, but he is still an uber-talented slot receiver who would give the Jaguars a physical and sure-handed option in the middle of the offense. He wouldn’t fix the team’s lack of speed, but he would fix their lack of consistency in high-leverage situations.
5) DJ Chark
With this year’s wide receiver class not looking particularly deep at wide receiver, there is a good argument to make that keeping DJ Chark is one of the Jaguars’ best options. One of the few pure X receivers in free agency, Chark has the size and length that Lawrence thrives with while having legit 4.3 speed that could stretch the field and boost the entire offense.
The issue with the Jaguars is actually keeping Chark. After going through four losing seasons and two coaching staffs, Chark may want to find greener pastures elsewhere. The Jaguars could badly use Chark, but it remains to be seen if Chark needs them as badly as they need him.
6) Allen Robinson
A lot changes in a year. Last season, Allen Robinson would have been one of the first players named on this list. But last year was a down year for Robinson in a big way, with the former Jaguars receiver seeing a significantly smaller role in the offense after being franchise tagged, while also failing to develop any kind of chemistry with Justin Fields.
The hope for the Jaguars in this scenario would be that Robinson was simply done with Chicago last year, a year in which he also battled COVID-19 and reportedly last 10 pounds as a result. Turning 29 in August, Robinson still has some years left in the tank and would give Lawrence a big-bodied possession receiver who could win on the outside.
7) Michael Gallup
Had it not been for a late-season ACL injury, Gallup would be higher on this list. Still, he has proven he can be a solid No. 2 who can play at both the X and Z spots in the offense and would give the Jaguars a solid route-runner who has shown the ability to win downfield.
Gallup has never been a true No. 1 receiver and that makes it a projection if the Jaguars signed him to be exactly that, but he would be a nice addition for the team if paired with another starting option. Gallup doesn’t have consistent production, but he has the talent to warrant a roll of the dice.
8) Marquez Valdes-Scantling
There are few receivers in the NFL who have the pure deep speed that Marquez Valdes-Scantling, as Jaguars fans well know after his field-stretching touchdown against Jacksonville in 2020. With the Jaguars simply needing more speed on the outside — especially in the event they don’t retain Chark — then Valdes-Scantling makes a lot of sense.
The question with Valdes-Scantling is whether he is better a pure role player than as a No. 3 receiver, and the Jaguars are more so in need of a complete retooling of their receiver room as opposed to adding niche players. Still, he has speed and the Jaguars need it.
9) Will Fuller
Another established deep threat, Will Fuller has been one of the NFL’s best vertical receivers since entering the NFL in 2016. He played in just two games with the Dolphins last year due to a finger injury and faced durability questions in four years with the Texans, but he is a low-risk, high-reward style signing.
Fuller would bring more durability questions than keeping Chark, but it is hard to imagine he would fetch a large contract at this point in his career. He is more of a role player and has never had a 1,000-yard season, but he has the deep speed and ball skills the Jaguars are missing.
10) Russell Gage
A former sixth-round receiver whose role increased in Atlanta in recent seasons, Russell Gage wouldn’t do much to fix the Jaguars’ need for speed on the outside, but he would improve the unit’s overall consistency and reliability. Gage has never been a big-play threat (career-long reception of 49 yards) and has averaged just 10.7 yards per catch in his career, but he is a safe No. 3 receiver who can align outside and win in the middle of the field.
