Offense
A quick glance of their roster, and things are looking pretty good for the Jags. At least better then they have for quite a few years. I will say this now, and this is frankly the only piece of information you need from this whole article, the Jags will live and die by Blake Bortles. He is going into his second year and Jacksonville needs him to take major strides for this team to be successful. Earlier this offseason it was reported that he bulked up in a good way. He's around 250 lbs right now with a lower body fat percentage then last year, so the Ben Roethlisberger comparisons are just beginning. Around Blake Bortles, the front office has surrounded him with some talent. Obviously the biggest addition is Julius Thomas, and even if he doesn't put up the numbers he would with Manning, he will definitely open the field up a lot, which will be great for the offense as a whole. Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns are set to make strides too as they are all going into their second year, and I thought Rashad Greene was a steal in the draft so he could potentially be a key cog in their offense. In the backfield, they drafted T.J. Yeldon who I had ranked higher then most, and I think he can be a great running back in this league. He is definitely an upgrade over Toby Gerhart who was their starter at the beginning of last season, but Denard Robinson and Yeldon could make a dangerous duo. On the O-line, they have improved but are still lacking some star power. I still believe in Luke Joeckel, but he's looking more and more like an average LT in a best case scenario. Across the line they have some talent in Brandon Linder, the recently signed Jeremy Parnell and Steven Wisniewski, and the recently drafted A.J. Cann, although none of them have the talent to anchor the line for them (well maybe Cann eventually, but probably not next year). Overall, their offense looks much improved from last year, although they were second last in the league in total yards, so there's pretty much nowhere to go but up. I think they have the ceiling to get to a middle of the pack offense next year, but there is a lot of potential as there are so many players just entering their first, second or third years.Defense
The Jags defense last year was not as bad as the statistics say. They ended the year averaging the seventh most points per game allowed, but their offense did them no favours either. Unfortunately the number three pick in this past weekends draft is most likely out for the season, there is still talent to be found on this defense. They have a lot of depth at DT, as Sen'Derrick Marks was phenomenal last year, and they have Jared Odrick, and absolutely stole Michael Bennett in the 6th round. They are a especially thin in the outside pass rush department especially with the injury to Fowler, but Gus Bradley will get the most out of what he has in Chris Clemons and Andre Branch. They have a talented group of linebackers, especially Telvin Smith who I expect to make a huge leap forward and have a big impact especially in the passing game. He has a real shot at leading all linebackers in interceptions next year, which is no easy accomplishment especially for a second year player. Paul Posluszny will be a tackling machine again, and Skuta can be an adequate starter. Their secondary has a chance to take a massive step forward this year. They are getting a healthy Aaron Colvin, who probably should have been a first or second round pick last year, as well as a talented safety in James Sample. Jonathan Cyprien needs to clean up his game, because he showed a lot of potential his first year in the league. If he steps up, Sample and Cyprien can be a feared tandem at safety. Dwayne Gratz is a very talented young corner, and McCray is pretty good too. Chances are they will get burned quite a bit back there, especially with Cyprien playing a very aggressive game, but they can and will make plays.Overall Outlook
I think you're probably looking at a 6 win team next year. Take that how you will, but I think this will be a team that nobody will want to face, especially late in the season. They are still lacking an overall level of talent to compete with the big dogs in their division (Colts) and Bortles needs to prove to me he can be the guy before I invest in the Jags. Losing Fowler hurts, but there are so many young players that could take a huge step forward this year, and I think the year after this, they have a legitimate chance to compete for the division.
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