As the NFL Playoffs unfold and this season draws to a close, I can't help but think about next season for the Jaguars. Whether it's because of the bad taste in my mouth from our 2016 performance, or my excitement about Gus Bradley finally being gone - I am ready for the Jaguars to kick off 2017.
So I decided to post what I hope will be be helpful for fans looking to satisfy their Jaguars appetite during the off-season. Let's get started.
2017 Schedule
First thing's first: we already know who we will play, and where we will play, next season.
Home: Houston, Tennessee, Indianapolis, Baltimore*, Cincinnati, LA Rams, Seattle, LA Chargers
*Jaguars vs. Ravens, Week 3 (9/24) or Week 4 (10/1) in London
Away: Houston, Tennessee, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Arizona, San Francisco, NY Jets
Schedule Breakdown
Here's how the schedule breaks down:
DIVISIONAL (6 games) - Houston, Tennessee, and Indianapolis (home and away)
AFC NORTH (4 games) - Baltimore (in London), Cincinnati, @ Pittsburgh, @ Cleveland
NFC WEST (4 games) - LA Rams, Seattle, @ Arizona, @ San Francisco
AFC LAST-PLACERS (2 games) - LA Chargers (West), @ NY Jets (East)
The Jaguars will only play 4 games against 2016 Playoff teams: Houston (twice), Seattle, and @ Pittsburgh. Based on the 2016 season, the five most difficult games on paper are:
- @ Pittsburgh
- Seattle
- @ Houston
- Baltimore (in London)
- @ Tennessee
In other words, the Jaguars' 2017 opponents are not overwhelmingly difficult on paper. However, it's difficult to analyze a schedule without knowing the order of the opponents, when the bye week is, back-to-back road games, short weeks, and the like.
As a brief aside, I think the bye week will be Week 5 (10/8) following the London game against the Ravens. I also think our only prime-time game will be Thursday Night Football at home against the Colts.
The full 2017 NFL Schedule Release should occur on or about April 13th (full calendar below).
For now, just know that we only play 3 playoff teams, get Seattle and both LA teams at home, and play 2 of our road games against the worst teams in football (San Francisco and Cleveland). Thank you, NFL.
Off-Season Calendar
Here are all the dates you might be interested in as a Jaguars fan. They are either official dates (i.e. already announced) or projected dates based on last year's off-season calendar.
State of the Franchise Address - Friday, January 27th
**NFL FREE AGENCY BEGINS** - Thursday, March 9th @ 4:00pm ET
Negotiations can begin on Tuesday, March 7th, but no one can sign until after the start of FA (3/9).
Preseason Opponents Announcement - Thursday, April 6th
Full NFL Regular Season Schedule Release - Thursday, April 13th
**2017 NFL DRAFT** - Thursday, April 27th - Saturday, April 29th (Philadelphia, PA)
Organized Team Activities (OTAs) - May 22-23; May 25; May 30; June 1-2; June 5-6; June 8-9
Preseason Game Dates & Times Announcement - Thursday, June 1st
Mandatory Mini-camp - June 14-16
Training Camp Announcement - Tuesday, June 28th
Training Camp - July 29th - August 18th
**2017 WEEK 1** - Sunday, September 10th
So while things like Training Camp are a long ways away, we are within a few weeks of the State of the Franchise, which should bring some excitement. After all, we have a new coach in Doug Marrone, and a new Executive VP of Football Operations in Tom Coughlin. We should also expect an in-depth progress report of "Daily's Place" (the amphitheater and the practice fields), and get some insight into our revenue, ticket sales, and London initiatives.
But let's face it, there are 2 things that matter most in the off-season: Free Agency and the Draft.
Dream Acquisitions
FREE AGENCY
OFFENSIVE LINEGuard - Kevin Zeitler, Age 26 (Cincinnati Bengals)
Tackle - William Beatty, Age 31 (New York Giants)
PASS RUSHDefensive End - Jason Pierre-Paul, Age 28 (New York Giants)
SECONDARYCornerback - A.J. Bouye, Age 25 (Houston Texans) (replacement of Prince Amukamara)
Safety - Tony Jefferson, Age 24 (Arizona Cardinals) (replacement of Johnathan Cyprien)
WIDE RECEIVERAnquan Boldin, Age 36 (Detroit Lions)
Hear me out on this last one: he's still productive, he's incredibly athletic, he's a natural-born leader, with playoff and Super Bowl experience. He would instantly become the leader in the WR meeting room, and teach Robinson, Hurns, Lee, and Greene how to beat physical coverage and how to be a professional. Our young WR corps needs a veteran presence.
DRAFT
Round 1 - RB Dalvin Cooke (Florida State)
This is assuming a) Myles Garrett and Jonathan Allen are gone, and b) we sign 2 impact offensive linemen.
Adding Zeitler at guard and Beatty at tackle, getting Linder and Bowanko back healthy, and drafting Cook would improve our rushing attack overnight. If we're sticking with Bortles through 2017, like I think we are, the O-line and running game are priority #1. If we revamp our O-line and running game, we'll know for certain whether Bortles is our franchise QB or not after the season. A good line and rushing attack are a young QB's best friend.
We'll know more about the Draft once we see our signings in Free Agency. And we'll know more about Free Agency once teams are done re-signing, franchise-tagging, and cutting veterans to create cap space.
Until then, as always, Go Jaguars.