(01-04-2024, 01:26 PM)flgatorsandjags Wrote:

(01-04-2024, 12:52 PM)jaglou53 Wrote: Newton and Powers-Johnson are both intriguing players and it is a possibility that both will be on the Board for the Jaguars. Newton may "fall" to the Jaguars due to his size limitations. Kancey dropped for these reasons and has been so-so in his rookie season. Newton is going to be a better run stopper than Kancey, but he is not a nose tackle. As you said, he would be an upgrade who could apply pressure from the interior. The team will need to decide between the true nose tackle who will open things up for Allen ad Walker or someone like Newton. The 2 nose tackles I like are Sweat from Texas and McKinley Jackson from Texas A&M. Like Vita Vea, these two would be "huge" assets who would command double-teams which would open up things up for the pass rushers. It's a good possibility that one of these would be available in round 2 with the slight chance Jackson would fall to round 3.

Powers-Johnson would be a definite upgrade from Fortner and should also be available in round 2. All will depend on whether Jacksonville prefers to take one of the free agents (Connor Williams, Cushenberry) who would not have the learning curve of a rookie like Powers-Johnson. The interior of the OL needs to be the number 1 priority during the off-season with at least 2 upgrades.

This is a great time for the Jaguars' fanatic fans who can look forward to winning a 2nd straight AFC South title followed up by the playoffs and then the NFL draft!

Sweat is a monster.  I'd love to add him as well but I think they will be counting on Hamilton to get back to 100% next year and if they don't it's a huge need.  I thought about adding Connor in FA before the ACL tear but I'd pass on a zone blocking center that had a ACL tear late in the year.  We need a center that can move people.  Biadasz I think is a possibility if they want a vet C.  Dallas oline has been very good with Biadasz at center and I think he could play in any scheme.  Newton would be a 5 tech on early downs and you could move him inside on passing downs.  It's a great time to be a Jags fan if we beat Ten. Sunday lol

I really hope Hamilton does get back to the level he was playing at when they rewarded him with that generous contract extension. Another factor in the draft will be what they do with Ridley. As it now stands, they will definitely lose their 3rd round pick since Ridley has played on 85% of the snaps- well exceeding the 70% needed. They need to decide whether he is worth keeping based on his performance this season. This is definitely not an easy call, in my opinion. Is it worth paying him somewhere between $15-$20 million per year for 3-4 years and lose that valuable 2nd round pick? For those who say the obvious answer is "no," would the Jaguars be in position to win the AFC South for the 2nd consecutive year without him? I doubt it. The more important question is whether our expectations for him were too high considering the amount of time he missed and whether it's reasonable to believe he is capable of producing like he did in 2020 for the Falcons (almost 1400 yds. and 9 t.d.'s). My biggest concern for him is mental, not physical. Unfortunately, that's harder for the team to evaluate and the last thing you want to do is pay him all that money only to have him have a re-occurrence of the depression he experienced. Don't mean to sound callous, as I have nothing against the guy, but re-signing him does have that risk. I do wish that this decision was not in Baalke's hands, but that's another topic.

Believe me, I do not consider the Titans game an easy win. If the Jaguars allow them to stay in the game early, they could easily break our hearts just like in the 1998-99 season.

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