NFL front office power rankings: Jaguars in at No. 21

The Jacksonville Jaguars — try as they might — are building a respectable roster (at least on defense) but their front office can’t get over the Blake Bortles hump. And that’s why Sean Wagner-McGough of CBS Sports ranked them No. 21 in the league, below the likes of the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins.

Here is what Wagner-McGough had to say about the Jaguars in particular:

21. Jacksonville Jaguars

A year after landing Malik Jackson, the Jaguars added another good defensive lineman in Calais Campbell. They also signed A.J. Bouye, who broke out with the Texans. They fall to this spot, though, because they didn't bring in outside competition for Blake Bortles. They might be wasting a playoff-caliber defense by letting Bortles get one more chance. They also used a top pick (No. 4 overall) on a running back (Leonard Fournette) when they could have gotten better value by taking a running back later.

I think this is a good ranking for the front office. It’s hard to compartmentalize all the different facets of the team — the quarterback situation, the coaching, the team’s record, the front office — because while they’re all related, there’s still some independence. One part may be doing a little better than the others, but because of a failing at one end the rest of the organization is dragged down.

That’s where I see the front office. They’re not great, but I also wouldn’t put them at the bottom of the barrel like ESPN did with our quarterback situation or like the on-field performance did with a 3-13 record. The front office, while imperfect and building the team in some ways that don’t make sense, is one of the most aggressive spenders in the league in free agency. The decision to not only keep Bortles but ignore any competition for him will be the death knell for this team, however.