It's pretty obvious that our staff is satisfied they can win with the current roster following free agency and the draft. Their expectations for Walker and Lloyd are for much improvement, which often is the case with 2nd year players once the NFL game has slowed down for them. Josh Allen is likely to have a "career year" since he'll be playing for a big contract.

While I'd like to see them sign an inexpensive veteran like Justin Houston, the nickel position has me more concerned. Herndon has shown the inability to effectively cover slot receivers and the three draft choices were all taken in the later rounds due to weaknesses in their game. Johnson is most likely to become a starting safety in 2024 rather than a nickel. Even if the pass rush improves (which should happen), the Jaguars must face Mahomes, Burrow and Allen in the regular season and most likely at least once again in the playoffs. What is the confidence level of our fans that we can outscore the Chiefs, Bengals and Bills given the current status of our secondary? As much as I hate to think of this, what if Campbell or Williams are forced to miss a significant number of games due to injury? While Baalke has done an overall good job in player acquisition the past few seasons, failing to draft one of the more highly regarded nickels like Clark Phillips will come back to haunt him. Phillips would have made much more sense than Tank Bigsby in round 3 since the Jags already acquired DeEernest Johnson and also likes Hasty. Bigsby will be a good player, but how many touches will he get in a typical game?

The 2023 Jaguars have a chance to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. If this is to come to fruition, however, they must find a way to add another capable player who can be the nickel or fill in at corner. My hope is that Baalke, Pederson and Caldwell have a plan to make this happen.

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