2015 Jaguars roster review: Offensive line

Recap

The Jacksonville Jaguars offensive line in 2015 was... better? Maybe? I guess?

You can't really call the offensive line good. You can't really call it bad. But you can say that several areas of it flashed but it was ultimately inconsistent and flawed, specifically as run blockers.

Luke Joeckel had the best season of his career at left tackle. He played steadily for most of the first 15 games, but then he had an absolute meltdown and played the worst game of his career in the final game against the Houston Texans. That kind of sums up Luke's career to date. Looks good for a bit but then looks horrendous out of nowhere.

Zane Beadles was once again the weak link in the chain at left guard. As a big money free agent, he was supposed to bring stability and experience, but there are simply too many times that he looks like the worst player on the field.

Stefan Wisniewski was brought in as a free agent to provide a veteran presence at the center position and to help Blake Bortles with the nuance of calling pass protections for the offensive line. He is what he is as a player -- okay pass blocker, liability as a run blocker, nothing special.

Two different players started throughout the year at right guard. Brandon Linder was the incumbent starter but he was put on injured reserve after the third game of the season. Rookie A.J. Cann manned the position for the rest of the year, and he vastly exceeded expectations. By the end of the year he firmly entrenched himself as the Jaguars best starter on the line without Linder, and perhaps even when he returns.

Jermey Parnell was a big free agent addition at right tackle and he played steady throughout the season, albeit not spectacular. He caught some flak for a bogus "pressures" stat that was being floated around but the reality is that many of the pressures he gave up were more due to Blake Bortles scrambling instead of him getting flat out beat.

Out of backups Luke Bowanko, Josh Shatley, and Sam Young, only Young saw major playing time. And he was... not good. A backup tackle should be an area to focus on this offseason.

Overall Grade: C+

Outlook

The offensive line should look different next season for two simple reasons: 1. They need to replace Zane Beadles and 2. They need to upgrade from Stefan Wisniewski.

Luckily, the new starter at left guard is already on the roster. Be it A.J. Cann or Brandon Linder, it doesn't really matter. Both players are significantly better than Beadles and they should be the starters next season. Who plays where is something that is up to the team but it is a minor detail.

The future at center is more uncertain. It is expected that the team will pursue Alex Mack in free agency but it is no guarantee that they could reel him in.

Joeckel and Parnell are not elite players at the position, but each is serviceable and should be locked in as the starters for 2016.