Jacksonville Jaguars 2020 Season Preview
Chris Ransom follow @DraftUtopia Posted on 8/19/2020.
Jacksonville Jaguars Free Agency Recap
The Jaguars signed Tyler Eifert at tight end and Joe Schobert at middle linebacker in Free Agency. They also got Rodney Gunter for depth before he had to retire due to a heart condtion and replaced him with Timmy Jernigan just a few days ago.
Jacksonville Jaguars Draft Recap
The Jaguars two first round picks are excpected to start. Jacksonville replaced Jalen Ramsey with C.J. Henderson. Ramsey was the number one field cornerback right out of the gate. Henderson is expected to be a nickel cornerback and that's smart since Henderson struggled against the run at Florida. K'Lavon Chaisson is expected to start at 4-3 left outside linebacker. Laviska Shenault Jr., their 2020 second round pick out of Colorado could push Chris Conley for the slot receiver job.
Jacksonville Jaguars Quarterback Summary: Gardner Minshew II came in and won the starting quarterback job as a rookie when Nick Foles got injured. Mike Glennon and Josh Dobbs are competing to be the backup with the loser having to compete with rookie quarterback Jake Luton from Oregon State for that fourth string gig. There's no guarantee all four quartrebacks make the 53-man roster.
Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo were both former NFL Head Coaches in the NFC East Division. This is Jay Gruden's first offensive coordinator role since he went to three consecutive playoff games with Andy Dalton as his quarterback before being promoted to head coach. Quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo was once the head coach of the New York Giants.
Jacksonville Jaguars Running Back Summary: Leonard Fournette struggled did better in 2019 after a poor 2018, but he hasn't dominated since his rookie year. It got so bad that Jacksonville didn't use a fifth year tender on Fournette. Jacksonville has a lot less depth at running back. Terry Robiskie enters his second season as Jacksonville's running backs coach. Robiskie did well in his first year with the Jaguars in 2019 and that's why he's still the running backs coach because Fournette finally showed flashes of pass catching last year.
Jacksonville Jaguars Wide Receiver Summary: Jacksonville has a lot of depth at wide receiver with Dede Westbrook, D.J. Chark, and Chris Conley. Chark and Conley will be on the outside with Westbrook in the slot. The Jaguars also have Keelan Cole for depth behind Westbrook. The two rookie receivers they drafted Laviska Shenault Jr. out of Colorado and Collin Johnson out of Texas are both backups to Chark and Conley on the outside.
Keenan McCardell did well as the wide receivers coach. He struggled in his second season. I feel like McCardell will push these receivers. If everyone steps up at wide receiver it makes things easier with quarterback Gardner Minshew II moving forward.
Jacksonville Jaguars Tight End Summary: Tyler Efiert and Josh Oliver are competing for the starting tight end job. Ron Middleton is in his eighth season as the tight ends coach.
Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Line Summary: Cam Robinson did well in his first season at left tackle, but got injured in 2018 before rebounding in 2019 after only playing in 12 games. Andrew Norwell was one of the Free Agents Jacksonville picked up as he will start at left guard. Jacksonville has Brandon Linder as their starting center and A.J. Cann as the starting right guard. Jawaan Taylor started all 16 games at right tackle as a rookie and became the first offensive tackle to start all 16 games for the Jaguars since 1998. Will Richardson is the swing tackle for Jacksonville and there were some rumors that he'd start at left tackle prior to Training Camp. Richardson played right tackle at North Carolina State so putting him at left tackle when the right side of the offensive line has always been his natural side may yield a disasterous result.
Doug Marone is a great offensive line coach, but he's not much of a playcaller despite being a good motivator. George Warhop was the offensive line coach for Joe Thomas and Alex Mack in Cleveland. Warhop enters his second season as Jacksonville's offensive line coach.
The Jaguars seem like they are more predicated towards running the football. What fascinates me with Jacksonville is they hired coaches who specialize in passing. This offense will be dependant on Gardner Minshew II and Leonard Fournette because the offensive line seems better at run blocking then pass blocking, yet they brought in an offensive ine coach who specializes in pass protection so I'm curious to see how this translates for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Having a coaching staff that is this incongruent with all the underutilized talent on the offensive side of the ball usually works against you. That's what I said about Jacksonville in 2019 before Minshew Mania took over Jacksonville, and I'm standing by that statement in 2020.
Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive Line Summary: Jacksonville has Josh Allen at 4-3 right end and Yannick Ngakoue as a 4-3 left end with Taven Bryan and Abry Jones as their starting defensive tackles. Defensive line continues to be a strong point for Jacksonville in 2020, but will only be a strong point as long as Yannick Ngakoue is on this roster.
Defensive coordinator Todd Wash did an awesome job rotating where he used Fowler and Jacksonville's defense set records under Wash in 2017 before regressing in 2018. Jacksonville only used Josh Allen as a pass rushing defensive end in 2019 putting him in a completely different situation than Fowler. Wash moved guys around everywhere on defense when he first arrived in Jacksonville, but he stopped doing that in 2019 and he sort of needs to go back to his roots if he wants to remain defensive coordinator. Jason Rebrovich enters his second season as defensive line coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jacksonville Jaguars Linebacker Summary: Myles Jack is moving to 4-3 right outside linebacker where Telvin Smith used to play. Joe Schobert will take over at 4-3 middle linebacker. K'Lavon Chaisson is going to start at 4-3 left outside linebacker as a rookie.
Mark Collins did awesome as the linebackers coach. Tom Coughlin loved his blitz schemes and emphasis on turnovers as an outside linebackers coach with the Jets so he brought him in. You also got Todd Wash who can rotate these linebackers wherever he pleases. Jacksonville has a lot of good defensive coaches and one may get promoted to defensive coordinator if Wash does end up with a head coaching gig.
Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive Backs Summary: Jacksonville Tre Herndon, D.J. Hayden, and C.J. Henderson as their cornerbacks. D.J. Chark picked apart all of these corners in Training Camp, so it's hard to say who their number one cornerback will be. Henderson could develop into a field cornerback in due time, but I don't think he has the floor Jalen Ramsey had or as much upside as Ramsey had coming out of Florida State. Henderson seems eager to learn and is confident, but not cocky. Those are strong traits from the rookie cornerback out of Florida.
Ronnie Harrison showed he could start at strong safety. Jacksonville got rid of Tashaun Gipson and needs a free safety. Free safety was a position Jacksonville ignored in the 2020 Offseason.
Jacksonville got a cornerbacks coach and safeties coach after firing Perry Fewell who did awful with a group of defensive backs that made the 2018 AFC Championship Game. Those coaches were retained.
The Jaguars defense still has a lethal front 7. Todd Wash is talented enough as a defensive coordinator to win enough games to save Doug Marone's job. Jacksonville has some weaknesses on the secondary that some teams may be able to exploit.
Jacksonville Jaguars Special Teams Summary: The Jaguars have great special teams. Josh Lambo has been consistent at kicker the last three years. Punter Logan Cooke emerged as a consistent starting punter. Jacksonville will have Dede Westbrook as their kick returner and punt returner.
Joe DeCamillis is the special teams coordinator. Mike Mallory the former special teams coordinator enters his third season as an assistant to DeCamillis.
Jacksonville Jaguars Worst Case Scenario: The Jaguars go 0-16. As a result they get the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Jacksonville Jaguars Best Case Scenario: Jacksonville goes 8-8 and ends up with a .500 season due to Minshew and their defense. I highly doubt this scenario happens even though fans in Jacksonville want to see this team show what they showed when they made the AFC Championship a few years ago.
Jacksonville Jaguars 2020 NFL Schedule
Week |
Date |
Opponent |
Time |
Cable Network |
Result |
Week 1 |
September 13 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 2 |
September 20 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 3 |
September 24 |
VS  |
8:20 PM EST |
NFL Network |
W |
Week 4 |
October 4 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 5 |
October 11 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 6 |
October 18 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 7 |
|
Bye Week |
|
|
|
Week 8 |
November 1 |
AT  |
4:05 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 9 |
November 8 |
VS |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 10 |
November 15 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 11 |
November 22 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 12 |
November 29 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 13 |
December 6 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 14 |
December 13 |
VS |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 15 |
December 20 |
AT  |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
Week 16 |
December 27 |
VS  |
1 PM EST |
FOX |
L |
Week 17 |
January 3 |
AT |
1 PM EST |
CBS |
L |
The Utopia Of Sports
