2024 offseason
Okay, we’re getting into crunch time here. The backbone players on this team – guys like DT Griffin – are getting up there in years, and we can’t count on them forever. We need to start winning some games before they are gone. It looks like we’ve all but lost DE Peter Hartman anyway – injury may take some before retirement.
WR Adrian Howe is our retirement victim this year – solid slot receiver for us the last couple seasons, he had a productive career as a complete job-jumper. Never 1,000 yards in any season, but he ends up with 8,200+ for his 13-year career – pretty much a solid role player throughout, it seems. He also never played more than two seasons for any club. This leaves us a bit thin at WR, now – where 10th year man Norm McNown remains our top target, and developing Jon Raymond is now entrenched at SE.
In free agency, we have a few key guys up for contracts – most notably LT Lamar Bellis, TE Wayne Conley, and RFA CB Larry Myers. I expect to re-sign all three – even though Bellis doesn’t get along well with QB Blackburn – we just don’t have many options there.
Looking at the open FA market, I am disappointed – nobody really worth pursuing too hotly, it seems. I think that’s just how it’s going to be – we will have to make improvements from within, though the draft.
5th year C Jim Straight is a solid starting-caliber player, and we lock him up to a contract, probably to use him as a super-sub or maybe as a guard.
I’ll watch DE Kirk O’Neal – he’s a 13th year guy in decline, but when we (foolishly?) let him go last year it sent us into an injury-plagued mess at DE, and having a decent guy like him around would be helpful. He at least stays healthy, generally – but he is asking or a pretty fat contract, for his scouted skill level.
How long should we tie up QB Irving Warholic as our presumed backup QB? He’s up for a new deal, and I see him as our second best option. I figure we will once again lock him up to a multi-year deal, to give us the security of having a solid reserve – especially since we haven’t really picked up a young guy with a particularly bright future recently (except for Marco Seelig, who has inexplicably burst onto the scene as the starter in Cinti, and whom we let walk away for nothing last year after a fairly unimpressive training camp).
We do sign DE O’Neal and QB Warholic, as expected, to round out our notable FA forays.
Into the draft – we hold a slightly lesser batch of 7th round picks, but will take our usual stabs at grabbing helpful young players.
Code:
2024 Rookie Draft
Pick Pos Player Name Notes Draft Roster
7.01 QB Bernie Wells Good combine numbers, 19 reps 15/45 15/47
7.02 FB Sammy Murray 26 reps, best current rating of FBs 22/37 23/34
7.03 WR Omar Foley Most developed, 4.47 forty, 23 reps 20/32 20/26
7.07 MLB Clifton Parella Combine top page in every area 22/30 23/31
7.15 P Derrick Grieg Standout player, projects as star 55/76 53/73
7.17 WLB Dexter Cardona 22 reps, 7.21 agil, Run D skills 18/38 18/39
7.19 FS Mark Browning Top rated S left, 7.16 agil 19/45 19/43
7.26 RDE Steven Powell 31 test, 30 reps, 7.42 agil 24/35 24/36
7.32 FS Ted Bratsch MTM and Bump coverage, 19 reps 17/37 32/60*
Well, this might be our best rookie class yet!
FS Ted Bratsch looks great, and after a 97% switch to CB, he bumps up even more to 32/60… but he was a +11 boom after the draft ended. We might have future growth from all three guys from the defensive front, right where we really need the help. And we won’t let Bernie Wells walk away, either – not after a +2 jump on closer inspection.
LB Cardona slides to the WILB slot, and jumps a bit in ratings to 18/41, a good sign as well. He looks like he might end up being a productive run stopper for us, and we need one or two young guys to fill that role inside. Parella, after switching to SILB, now rates as a 26/36 player. Those two could end up playing side by side for us down the road.
TE Rickey Foley announces a holdout – following his season as a starter, he feel underpaid. I need to keep him around, as Wayne Conley might be an injury risk, and Foley’s demands are not absurd – so we give in and offer his requested extension.
After our training camp, we are a little less boated than usual, but still will have to make a number of cuts.
Code:
Jacksonville Jaguars Roster, Scout Overview
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Warholic, Irving 13 QB 10 58 58 4 yrs
Blackburn, Bernard 15 QB 5 57 57 2 yrs
Borders, Norm 17 QB 7 38 43 1 yr.
Wells, Bernie 14 QB 1 19 50 3 yrs
Schultz, Vince 22 RB 3 44 44 1 yr.
Simmons, Timothy 27 RB 2 27 34 2 yrs
Creamer, Wally 48 RB 2 27 35 2 yrs
Chelios, Alonzo 23 FB 11 34 34 2 yrs
Bates, Marshall 26 FB 3 29 37 1 yr.
Murray, Sammy 20 FB 1 24 32 3 yrs
Conley, Wayne 87 TE 8 60 66 2 yrs
Foley, Ricky 3 TE 14 40 46 3 yrs
Clancy, Bob 80 TE 5 29 34 3 yrs
McNown, Norm 85 FL 10 56 56 3 yrs
Hyatt, Amos 89 FL 5 26 34 2 yrs
Stargell, Mack 28 FL 2 19 48 2 yrs
Raymond, Jon 7 SE 3 42 47 1 yr.
Foley, Omar 83 SE 1 21 25 3 yrs
Straight, Jim 73 C 5 52 57 3 yrs
Ransom, Louie 59 C 3 49 49 1 yr.
Combs, Bernie 58 C 5 34 44 3 yrs
Price, Heath 53 C 12 32 38 1 yr.
Fox, Nathan 62 LG 7 30 34 2 yrs
King, Arnold 74 LG 4 22 42 3 yrs
Carr, Adam 51 LG 2 15 43 2 yrs
Sellers, Graham 70 RG 9 34 45 2 yrs
Bellis, Lamar 61 LT 9 43 43 1 yr.
Maynard, Neal 67 LT 3 20 39 1 yr.
Collier, Edward 64 RT 6 38 38 3 yrs
Grieg, Derrick 6 P 1 54 66 3 yrs
Oldham, Justin 2 K 5 69 69 4 yrs
O'Neal, Kirk 97 LDE 13 41 41 2 yrs
Manumaleuna, C.J. 63 LDE 5 28 29 2 yrs
Powell, Steven 98 LDE 1 26 39 3 yrs
Hartman, Peter 78 RDE 9 73 73 4 yrs
Poston, Leon 75 RDT 11 52 53 3 yrs
Griffin, Darren 77 NT 10 84 86 3 yrs
Hegamin, J.B. 79 NT 7 33 35 1 yr.
**Hill, Stan 72 NT 3 25 47 1 yr.
Sellers, Lawrence 92 SILB 5 35 35 2 yrs
Parrella, Clifton 94 SILB 1 28 39 3 yrs
Greenham, Conrad 57 WILB 5 29 33 1 yr.
Cardona, Dexter 95 WILB 1 20 41 3 yrs
Fishman, Howie 56 WILB 3 17 41 1 yr.
Beeck, Roman 91 SLB 8 46 51 1 yr.
Fullerton, Darryl 50 SLB 7 35 37 2 yrs
Rollins, Mike 55 SLB 2 28 38 2 yrs
Graham, Rufus 90 WLB 8 51 51 1 yr.
Saga, Bucky 99 WLB 11 41 43 2 yrs
Southwell, David 54 WLB 2 22 30 2 yrs
McNeil, Donnell 35 LCB 2 52 53 2 yrs
Campbell, Darryl 42 LCB 10 40 43 3 yrs
Bratsch, Ted 45 LCB 1 36 59 3 yrs
Detmer, Jesse 46 LCB 3 32 32 1 yr.
Twisp, Arnie 30 LCB 3 29 36 1 yr.
Myers, Larry 21 RCB 4 48 52 5 yrs
**Lavender, Brenden 36 SS 7 43 49 2 yrs
Griffin, J.T. 40 SS 3 21 40 1 yr.
Browning, Mark 43 SS 1 21 40 3 yrs
Nathan, Rich 24 FS 9 52 52 2 yrs
Gray, John 49 FS 7 44 44 1 yr.
Becker, Malcolm 33 FS 6 40 41 1 yr.
On the rookie watch: QB Wells +3, DE Powell +3, LB Parrella +3, Cardona +0, CB Bratsch –1. So, we get three bumps out of five players we thought might give them – not too bad, really. All five guys will make the team, surely.