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The NFL free agency period officially begins in one month, which means we can start taking a look at potential targets the Jacksonville Jaguars could look to target in free agency. One of the positions the team is expected to target is on the interior of the offensive line, more specifically the guard position. There are a number of players the Jaguars could target, but at this point it seems certain that Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler will actually hit free agency.
From Paul Dehner, Jr. of the Cincinnati Inquirer:
2. I continue to feel confident Kevin Zeitler will be playing elsewhere in 2017. When Bengals free agency comes up, it always starts with Andrew Whitworth and usually skips over the 26-year-old guard. Rightfully so for Whitworth, who plays at a premium position and lives at the heart of the Bengals leadership group. As teams watch the Alex Mack acquisition at center help catapult the Falcons offense they'll look to interior linemen on the market to do the same and Zeitler might be the No. 1 guard available. He's about to break the bank. Like Max Montoya who came before him, the fact the Bengals never valued guard as a position worth paying top of the market dollar hangs like a black cloud. We'll see as free agency ramps up next month, but we put a 45 percent chance on his return in our free agent piece when the season ended and I'd drop it to 30 today.
Kevin Zeitler, 26, is someone who should absolutely be on the radar for the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency and likely will be on the radar of almost every team on the lookout for interior offensive line help. One of the big things the Jaguars struggled with last season was running the football and a big part of that struggle was the play of the interior offensive line and the fact that left guard became a revolving door of players.
Zeitler played the right guard position for the Jaguars, so if he were a target it's possible he could stick on that side and kick AJ Cann and whomever to the left side or possibly target straight up two new guards, including Zeitler. Either way, the Jaguars have the means to be able to add immediate upgrades on their offensive line in free agency and should aggressively do so, with someone like Zeitler being at the top of their list.