When you face Andrew Luck, J.J. Watt, and now Marcus Mariota twice in a season, you are going to need some offensive firepower. With a good amount of the players in the Jaguars offense this season going into either their first or second year, this team has hopes for not only the future, but this coming season as well.
Jacksonville Jaguars Offense: The Future Looks Good
To start off, second-year quarterback Blake Bortles showed signs last year that he is ready to take on the pressure of being an NFL quarterback. He is already built like one (6’5, 232 lbs.), and now he is starting to gain the confidence needed to make it far in this league.
Along with that, he is starting to get weapons around him. Last season, he established a connection with rookie wide receiver Allen Hurns, who finished the season with six touchdowns and over 600 yards receiving. Also, the team still has second year wideouts Marquise Lee and Allen Robinson. Not only that, but the team also helped Bortles in the draft and offseason by getting a few more additions. The team took wide receiver Rashad Greene out of Florida State in the fifth round who was the school’s all-time leading receiver, and will easily establish himself as either the number two guy or the slot receiver.
As far as the offseason, the team made a huge splash and landed coveted tight end Julius Thomas, who will definitely be a red zone target for Bortles. You also have to remember that the team still has veteran tight end Mercedes Lewis as well. If Justin Blackmon was still with the team, I would go as far to say that this would be one of the most dangerous offenses in the NFL, but due to his problems off the field, I don’t think we will ever see him play another NFL snap for this team.
Not only did this team help themselves with their passing game, but they also did so on the ground. It seems that Denard Robinson has established himself as the speedy guy for the team as well as the lead running back. But they couldn’t have him handle every snap and take a beating. That’s why the team went out and drafted running back T.J. Yeldon out of Alabama in the second round as well as signing veteran running back Bernard Pierce to help make this team have a dual threat in the backfield. This trifecta is a perfect combination of speed and power that could really break teams down in the late stretch of games.
Now, I’m not saying that this team will make the playoffs this year because I think Andrew Luck will have something to say about that. What I am saying, though, is that Jaguars fans will have something to look forward to this year as well as into the future. Once head coach Gus Bradley gets his defense to where it was when he was the defensive coordinator in Seattle, then this team will have the potential to do damage in the league.
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