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During the offseason, one of the most common questions Jacksonville Jaguars fans have pertains to linebacker Myles Jack. Jack was drafted after the Jaguars traded up in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, a player that they considered with the fifth overall pick, but fell ultimately due to concerns over a surgically repaired knee. Jack didn't play much as a rookie, in part because of how well Paul Posluszny and Telvin Smith were playing a head of him, but also because the coaching staff seemingly completely overloaded him by making him learn all three positions as a rookie.
New Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone on Tuesday evening at a Q&A session with season ticket holders stated he had big expectations for Jack for the 2017 season. One of those expectations was that Jack was going to be a three-down player for the team. This isn't the first time we've heard comments like that about Jack, as earlier in the offseason general manager Dave Caldwell indicated the goal was for Jack to play a lot more than he did during the 2016 season.
Caldwell also chimed in on the expectations for Jack, taking in my opinion a subtle shot at former head coach Gus Bradley, that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to saddle Jack with learning all three linebacker positions instead of getting him playing time at a singular position.
As far as Jack being a three-down player for the Jaguars in 2017, it leans more to the speculation that has been made about Posluszny moving from the middle linebacker role to a lesser role as the strongside linebacker, which would likely come off the field on passing downs. In order for Jack to be a three-down player, he's going to have to play either weakside over Telvin Smith or be the middle linebacker that the team originally envisioned him as.
The Jaguars report for the offseason program on April 17, in which the coaching staff will speak with players about roles for the 2017 season, so perhaps we'll know something official about the linebacker position then.