(12-17-2018, 11:45 AM)NYC4jags Wrote:

(12-17-2018, 11:21 AM)Bullseye Wrote: I agree with Marty here.

In 2017, they drafted Cam Robinson in the 2nd round.  This year, they added Norwell.

In 2017, I would have been all for adding another T if Dion Dawkins were available with our 3rd round pick, but Buffalo traded up into the bottom of the 2nd round to get him in front of us.  Feeney, I don't believe, was a scheme fit.

This year, I was all for Will Hernandez at 29.  But I'm not sure his drafting solves our depth problem.

Hernandez would not have started over Norwell, and if he started over Cann, Cann likely would have been cut.  Even if Cann is the top backup at both guard spots for this year, it doesn't solve the main problem of losing our LT for the year in week 2.

Very few teams can survive that and then all of the subsequent injuries to the offense generally and the offensive line in particular.  Most teams keep 9-10 offensive linemen.  The Jaguars have lost at least 6, including the top 3 LTs.  Interestingly enough, the prior TC era Jaguars were one of the few teams who could lose their LT and still maintain a decent level of pass protection, because they had another guy who could play LT very well in Ben Coleman.  But as a general rule, losing your starting LT makes pass protection very difficult.

Losing the LT was the worst case scenario for this offense and I said so at the time.  Losing the second LT was a dagger to the heart.  I'm not asserting that they should have had some miracle plan to solve the pass rush issues associated with starting your 3rd and 4th options at LT.  I'm saying they should have addressed the RT situation the year prior and I'm not limiting that to the draft or the Smoot pick. I'm also saying they were too content with Cann and the overall depth coming into this season. 

Bottom line - adding legit competition at RT in 2017 and legit competition for RG in 2018 would have bolstered those positions and aided the depth pool. 

I feel they were too complacent about the line over the last several years, but the last two years are the topic at hand. I just hope they can find pieces for the right side this offseason (maybe they have one of them)  - not to mention build adequate depth. 
Wells and Shatley are both (ostensibly) hitting free agency. So they'll have to start from scratch finding affordable backups.

So besides maybe trading up for Dawkins, who would you have drafted at RT?

Only two Ts were drafted in the first round that year, none above 20 with Garrett Bolles in Denver.  The Saints drafted Ramczyk at 32, right before the Jaguars drafted Robinson in the 2nd round.  Only one T was taken in the 3rd round that year, and that was Arturo Garcia for the Patriots (drafted 85th overall-not currently on their roster per profootballreference.com or patriots.com.

Zach Banner?  Julien Davenport?

Last year wasn't a great year for tackles at all.

Considering the money you gave to Parnell as a FA, free agency wasn't a particularly viable option either.

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