(04-02-2022, 04:54 AM)Bullseye Wrote: For the purposes of these questions, assume the following conditions:

A.  A top slot WR and top nickel/slot CBs are considered starters, given the prevalence of 11 personnel and nickel defenses.

B.  There will be no trades up or down in any round, nor will there be any trades for or away of players existing on rosters, so there will be no trading away Shenault or trading for DK Metcalf.  What you now see as far as draft picks is what we will utilize in this draft.

With the above conditions in place:

1.  How many new starters do you expect to come out of our free agency haul?  Who are they?

2.  How many immediate starters do you expect to come out of this draft?

3.  Are there any guys drafted last year that did not start for whatever reason last year to be starters this year?  Name them and if applicable, name their positions.

4.  Given the number of new starters combined from the questions listed above, would you say that is a good or bad total?  Why?  Do you think the number of new starters is a reflection of a job well done in terms of player acquisition, a function of how bad the roster was in the first place, the need for newer players to fit the new schemes, or some combination? Will the players be clear upgrades or scheme fillers?

5.  Do your expectations rise or fall depending upon who has the most sway in the draft room between Baalke or Pederson?

6.  Would your expectations be any higher if Baalke had been fired or an EVP beeh placed above him as promised by Khan?

7.  Of all of the positions deemed to be needs on this team, what's the one position you somehow think will not be addressed by round 3?

I will give my answers a little later.  I want to hear your thoughts.

Thought it would be a good time to revisit this topic now that we've had the draft and seen the schedule.

Having reviewed the free agency haul and  the draft class I can see up to 12-14 new starters this year.

I see the new starters this way:

RB-Travis Etienne-I've heard lots of favorable reports about his health and prognosis for recovery.  Since JRob is still recovering, Etienne will be the starter.

WR-Christian Kirk (Slot) I think both Kirk and Jones are new starters almost by default.  
WR-Zay Jones I do NOT see him as an upgrade.  Had there not been such a dramatic run at WR in the first round, I think the Jaguars might have addressed that position and Jones would not be a starter. 

TE-Evan Engram-This is almost self explanatory

LG-???-Bartch was a starter last year, but at RG.  I'm not sold on him at LG, either.  I've heard some speculation that Taylor might be tried at LG.  Not sold on him, either, but he can't be any worse at LG than he is at RT, can he?

C-Fortner or Shatley-Not prepared to name the starter between these two.  If you put a gun to my head, I'd choose Shatley to start opening day, but who knows.

RG-Scherff-'Nuff said

RT-Walker Little-He had last year to knock the rust off.  I think this year he gets quality coaching and upgrades RT.

NT-Fatukasi-Given the investment and his apparent familiarity (?) with Caldwell, I think he starts.

DE-Hamilton-With Fatukasi in at NT, Hamilton slides to a DE spot

LOLB-Walker-as the top overall pick, I think he gets as much opportunity to start as possible.  I have my doubts as to how much impact he can actually have, especially as an edge rusher.  But I wonder how long he will hold onto that starting spot.

ILB-Devin Lloyd-I think he becomes the next star on the defense

ILB-Olukun or Muma-I think both guys would be upgrades over the athletically limited Wilson/Schobert and the seemingly non instinctual Myles Jack.

S-Andre Cisco-Wingard can't win the starting S spot this year, can he?

Nickel-Darious Williams

Among the UDFA's, if there were long shots to start, I'd say the WR out of Notre Dame and the DB from Texas are the longshots to start from that group.  Been looking at a lot of Austin clips lately.  While he seems to have all of the tools you'd want in a WR with good size and sub 4.4 sped, it didn't seem to translate into a lot of separation at the college level.  It'll be interesting to see what the Jaguars coaching can get out of him.

That's fifteen (15) new starters in 2022-not counting kicker. Possibly seven from free agency, three more from last year's draft ascend to starters this year, and  2, maybe 3 starters from the rookie class.  That's even more dramatic than I thought when I first posted these questions, and I'm not even sold on the Walker pick or the Zay Jones signing.  That seems almost an excessive number of new starters, even though this has been the worst team in the league the past two years running.

I feel like I am missing something in the analysis...kind of like that sudden panic you get where you feel the need to pat yourself down to ensure you have your keys, but I can't put my finger on what it is.

What are your thoughts?

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