Anonymous NFL execs give Jaguars B Grade

The Jacksonville Jaguars made a lot of good moves this offseason, in both the 2017 NFL Draft and NFL Free Agency. We love to joke that it makes them back-to-back-to-back offseason champions, but in reality the Jaguars have done a nice job adding what we think is talent, especially on the defensive side of the football.

Regardless of if you think the team has done enough in all areas, other people have opinions on what the team has done. Again, most of it is positive and, fair warning, it generally ends up reaching the same point in the end.

This is what some anonymous NFL execs think about the Jaguars offseason (via /r/Jaguars)

Grade: B

The Jaguars will eventually have to decide whether to stick with Blake Bortles at quarterback. In the meantime, they've made moves to diminish their reliance upon him. Offseason commitments to the ground game do not get much stronger than hiring Tom Coughlin and Doug Marrone before using a top-five pick on Leonard Fournette. Meanwhile, the addition of Calais Campbell could put the defense over the top. All signs point to fewer pass attempts per game for Bortles.

"They made progress in getting an identity," an exec said. "Are they better? I'm not saying they are, but one of these years they are going to go like 10-6. I don't think it's this year. I think it's when they get great play out of the quarterback."

Campbell was the consensus best defensive player available in free agency. He also cost $15 million annually.

"Jacksonville spent the most guaranteed money over the last five years and they have the worst record," an analytics director said. "They keep doing the same thing over and over. I do love Calais Campbell."

There was no consensus that Fournette was the best offensive player in the draft, but he was the first offensive player selected who was not a quarterback. Adding him and Campbell would seem to qualify the Jaguars for a Grade A offseason, if only there weren't so much weariness.

"Every offseason, we think they get better," another exec said. "I have no idea anymore. It looks like defensively they have a ton of pieces. Offensively, it is back to what it usually is. What is Bortles going to be like? The pieces around him are very good on offense. [Tackle] Cam Robinson was one of the best picks in the draft."

This breakdown of the Jaguars offense starts off and ends basically how you would expect; Everything the Jaguars did on paper seems good, but it’s irrelevant without significant improvement from Blake Bortles.

While the NFL is a team game, it just shows the importance of having bare minimum an efficient quarterback who is not going to put you behind with turnovers.