Jacksonville Jaguars
Offense
Given what’s transpired in the preseason, there’s no question in my mind that first-round pick Blake Bortles is showing enough to warrant the starting job over the very limited Chad Henne. Bortles has looked sharp, giving Jacksonville fans reason to believe they’ve finally stumbled upon the team’s first franchise quarterback in more than a decade.
The team has a new workhorse in Toby Gerhart, plus Denard Robinson is shaping up to be an excellent change-of-pace candidate. Justin Blackmon won’t be a factor in 2014 and maybe beyond, but Allen Robinson and Marqise Lee will be hauling in passes from Bortles for a long time.
Defense
Gus Bradley is trying to replicate what Seattle did in Jacksonville, and stole Chris Clemons and now Red Bryant away from the ‘Hawks and brought them to his D. Jonathan Cyprien is one of the NFL’s best young safeties, bringing the same sort of skills to the table that Earl Thomas does.
Despite a few solid pieces, the Jags’ D has a lot of holes to fill. The interior line, linebacking corps and cornerbacks are average at best, but some pieces are also young and could develop like they did for the Seahawks.
Outlook
Nobody is counting on the Jaguars to be a playoff team in 2014, but they showed last year under Bradley they’re no longer a pushover. The need to continue on that ladder, win a few more close games, and most importantly the future building blocks of the organization need to grab headlines for the right reasons.
Bortles should be starting by October. Gerhart needs to prove he’s capable of being a workhorse-type back. And this defense needs to be competitive, especially against mediocre AFC South offenses. A six-win season would be a great way for Bradley to end his second season in Jacksonville.
