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The Jacksonville Jaguars made offensive line the focus of their 2018 free agency, signing left guard Andrew Norwell to a monster contract that included $30 million in guaranteed money. They allowed only 24 sacks last season and paved the way for the most productive run game in the NFL, averaging over 141 yards per game on the ground.
Pro Football Focus has different thoughts, however.
In his latest offensive line rankings, Michael Renner believes the Jaguars boast the 15th best offensive line in the league — the same exact ranking as at the end of last season.
15. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP:
Left Tackle: Cam Robinson, 37.6 overall grade
Left Guard: Andrew Norwell, 88.8
Center: Brandon Linder, 84.7
Right Guard: A.J. Cann, 52.5
Right Tackle: Jermey Parnell, 79.0
2017 season-end rank: 15th (no change)
Jacksonville made the splash signing of the offseason when the inked Andrew Norwell — PFF’s third-highest graded guard in 2017 — to a 5-year, $66.5-million deal. That doesn’t completely alleviate the holes in the lineup though as Cam Robinson (37.6 overall grade) and A.J. Cann (52.5 overall grade) are still penciled in at left tackle and right guard, respectively. Robinson will have to make huge strides from a rookie campaign that saw him finish 47th out of 55 qualifying tackles in pass-blocking efficiency.
I’m not buying it.
A.J. Cann’s low grade is justified — he’s the only weak link I see on this line and could be supplanted by fourth-round rookie Will Richardson.
But why does Cam Robinson grade out as one of the worst offensive tackles in the league? By our count, he was at fault for just 3.5 sacks last year and the passing game wasn’t inefficient because of the offensive line, but rather an inconsistent quarterback in Blake Bortles who was rarely pressured.
How the Jaguars offensive line isn’t considered better after replacing Patrick Omameh with Andrew Norwell is beyond me, but what do y’all think?