What is the Jacksonville Jaguars' extensive receiver depth map now after the release of Gabe Davis?
In hindsight it always seems 20/20, but that's the move we should see. Prior to the NFL draft, Liam Coen described the importance of passing the ball out and mentioned several players in different positions that would be on Brian Thomas Jr.
Davis signed a three-year, $39 million deal last offseason, including a $24 million guarantee. He played in just 10 games due to his injury, capturing only 48% of 239 yards in 42 goals. He will leave a huge dead hat.
The Jaguars' NFL draft focused on building around Trevor Lawrence. This includes adding two offensive linemen to the mix, drafting two defenders, which, of course, made Travis Hunter's Aggression Ad Bass deal.
The combination of Thomas and Hunter will form quite once or twice. Not only did Thomas and Hunter have two dynamic players, but their hands were in their hands, and their abilities moved around the formation and attacked every level of the field and attacked in a variety of ways, which would make the opponent's defensive board a lot.
As mentioned earlier, while these two will be the reasons for the Jaguars’ passing game, passing the ball is an important part of Cohen’s offensive plan. When the ball can enter any number of pass options, it forces the defense to spread, defending the entire field, which can create some one-on-one matchups that can be exploited.
"We're going to sprinkle the balls out and hope to be equal," Cohen said before the NFL draft. "This is the benefit of being with Tampa last year, and we had to play many different players in different personnel groups.
“(If) we can get more people into the game, especially early, so the defense isn’t just cloud BT and spread all over him, so we do have other people who can win and master the ball and end up sharing that wealth and sharing that ability to play.”
The Jaguars' offense cap will depend on Lawrence's game level. But, as Coen said, he also needs "balance". In this way, Lawrence doesn't have to bear the burden of playing in every game.
I would say this offseason, the Jaguars added more balance on that side of the ball and also gained more playing ability.
"We've definitely solved the ability to strike from a distance," Cohen said. "You want to be as explosive as possible in the run and passes. I think that's definitely solved in both professional free agents and in the college draft landscape."