The Urban Meyer era was a big setback. No question. But since Doug Pederson has taken over, the Jaguars have felt like they are one or two of the right moves away from contending for a title. Maybe this is the offseason where they do it. Trevor Lawrence is in year four (with the fifth-year option if they need it) and they will soon need to throw a bag of money at him so the clock is ticking. Wouldn’t it be nice to add some pieces this year, win it all, and pay the man? Let’s take a look at the Jaguars' current depth chart of weapons both from an NFL standpoint and a fantasy football standpoint as we approach 2024 NFL free agency!

*The salary cap numbers referenced in this article come courtesy of our friends over at Spotrac.com*

Fantasy Relevant Depth Chart

Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence

C.J. Beathard

 

Running Back

Travis Etienne

Tank Bigsby

D'Ernest Johnson

Wide Receiver

Calvin Ridley

Jamaal Agnew

Elijah Cooks

Wide Receiver

Christian Kirk

Parker Washington

 

Wide Receiver

Zay Jones

Tim Jones

 

Tight End

Evan Engram

Brenton Strange

Luke Farrell

White = unrestricted free agent

Green = role is safe

Yellow = role could be in jeopardy

Red = could be traded or released

PROJECTED 2024 SALARIES:~ $233M

ESTIMATED 2024 CAP SPACE: ~$17M

Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence: Lawrence is QB1 for now and for the future. A lot of teams have questions at the most important position in football but not the Jags. The only question they have is how much money to give him. It’s probably going to be a lot but it’s worth it.

C.J. Beathard: There is no reason not to retain C.J. Beathard for 2024. He’s on a fairly affordable deal with a cap hit of $2.2 million and he’s a reliable backup. 

JAGUARS QB FREE AGENCY TAKE: The quarterback position feels pretty good for the Jaguars here. They obviously aren’t looking for anyone to compete to start and most of the options for backup QB in free agency would be lateral moves at best. I don’t expect much action here. 

Running Back

Travis Etienne: Travis Etienne is under contract for 2024 and, as a first round pick, they could also pick up his fifth-year option for 2024. I think they would be wise to exercise that option while they try to work out a long-term extension. Etienne just recently turned 25 and he’s everything you want in a starting back. 

Tank Bigsby: Bigsby had a less than ideal first year but there is a reason they call them rookie mistakes. He was given a shot early but lost work on offense as the season went on to veteran D’Ernest Johnson. Bigsby’s roster spot is safe and he’ll once again be in the competition to backup Travis Etienne.

D’Ernest Johnson: Johnson is an unrestricted free agent and could end up back with Jacksonville if he’s willing to take an affordable deal. On top of his backup duties he also contributes in the return gamel. The team seems committed to developing Tank Bigsby so they might just let Johnson walk if someone wants to pay him.

JAGUARS RB FREE AGENCY TAKE: On one hand, the Jags can feel pretty good about the top of the depth chart here. They used first and third round picks on Etienne and Bigsby for that security. On the other, they aren’t just going to go into the season with two RBs under contract. Either they go after a more trustworthy backup RB with Bigsby as the third string and special teamer or they add another RB who is more there for special teams than to be a backup. With both Jamaal Agnew and D’Ernest Johnson set to be free agents, they are going to need someone that can return kickoffs. A guy like Antonio Gibson might fit the bill. 

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: D’Ernest Johnson, Antonio Gibson, Ty Johnson, Boston Scott, Trayveon Williams

Wide Receiver

Calvin Ridley: On paper, Calvin Ridley was the Jaguars’ most talented wide receiver. But there have been some reports that the Jaguars were frustrated with his work ethic and conditioning and they believe that may have contributed to a lack of production. He’s an unrestricted free agent and I would not be surprised to see the Jags let the 29 year old walk if a reasonable deal can’t be struck. 

One extra thing to keep in mind is this - based on the terms of the trade, the Jaguars bringing Ridley back will change the compensation. The original deal was a fourth with stipulations that could make it a higher pick. The pick already became a third round pick with ridley having 1,000 yards. If the Jaguars re-sign him, it becomes a second-round pick in this year's draft.

Christian Kirk: Kirk has been incredibly reliable since signing with the Jaguars and there’s really no contract benefit to releasing him (not that they would want to anyway). So he’s a virtual lock to operate in his slot/flanker capacity for Jacksonville again in 2024.

Zay Jones: Zay Jones is best utilized as an outside WR that can stretch the field with high aDot routes. In an ideal world, he would be your WR3 that comes on the field for 11 personnel with Kirk moving into the slot or even your WR4 that operates primarily as a field stretcher for obvious pass situations. Depending what happens with Ridley, he could be asked to be a full -time WR in this offense playing a lot of split end. But the Jags would look best with Kirk and another full-time WR with Zay as the third fiddle.

Jamal Agnew: When healthy, Agnew is a great asset because he can return both kicks and punts on top of contributing on offense with explosive plays. Health has been the big caveat as he once again suffered a season-ending injury. He should recover in time to play again in 2024 but he’s an unrestricted free agent so the Jags need to make a call on bringing him back or not.

Parker Washington: Washington filled in admirably in the slot for Christian Kirk which likely solidified his roster spot moving forward. If they move on from Ridley and don’t add anyone, perhaps Kirk will play more flanker and Washington can step in as the slot. Adding one more WR likely pushes Washington back to a reserve role, of course. 

Tim Jones: When Zay Jones would miss time, they would go with a “next Jones up” mentality. Jones is an exclusive rights free agent with two accrued seasons meaning the Jaguars can essentially keep him for $985K this year without any other team being able to offer him a deal. Seems reasonable. 

Elijah Cooks: Like virtually all undrafted free agents, Cooks can be released for next to nothing in terms of dead cap. So he needs to earn his roster spot in 2024. The converted quarterback offers some size at 6’5” as well as some special teams prowess so it’s just a matter of proving he’s worth the spot.

JAGUARS WR FREE AGENCY TAKE: Unlike many teams, this one has the depth part figured out if they just want to keep Washington, Tim Jones, Cooks, and Agnew. It’s the top end where they could use a guy. In an ideal world, they add a big body to play split end. That would allow Christian Kirk to operate in a “Chris Godwin” type role playing flanker in two WR sets and slot in three WR sets (where Zay Jones would enter the game). Come to think of it, Chris Godwin has a pretty easy time playing opposite Mike Evans - who is a free agent. Evans might be a little out of their budget however so they might need to with a cheaper option unless he wanted to take a friendly deal. Since they need to pay Trevor Lawrence soon, they probably can’t throw a huge contract at guys like Tee Higgins or Michael Pittman either. But that would be incredible if there were some way to make that happen.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Mike Evans, Calvin Ridley, DJ Chark, Marquise Brown, Demarcus Robinson, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine-Ikhine. 

Tight End

Evan Engram: Evan Engram was a top five tight end in fantasy football with Eli Manning. Then he struggled with Daniel Jones. Now he’s been a top five tight end in back to back years with Trevor Lawrence. In fact, they said Evan Engram “couldn’t catch” yet this year he caught nearly 20 more balls than any other tight end. Funny how that happens. Given the weakness of the free agent tight end class, it was smart to get Engram locked up. 

Brenton Strange: Brenton Strange did his job. Evan Engram is the pass-catching tight end operating out of the slot. Strange is the inline tight end, blocking on 70.7% of his overall plays and 27.4% of his pass plays. Maybe down the road he will develop into a starting-caliber guy, a la Dallas Goedert behind Zach Ertz, but for now he should be content to have a role on an NFL team.

Luke Farrell: The play of Brenton Strange makes Luke Farrell potentially expendable if the Jaguars decide they need the roster spot and/or th extra million dollars. He can be cut with only ~$90K in dead cap with just over a million in savings. He did operate ahead of Strange for most of the season in a similar role (blocking on 71.4% of his plays and 29.8% of his pass plays). So maybe they just keep both, it’s an affordable deal. 

JAGUARS TE FREE AGENCY TAKE: They are honestly set if they want to be at tight end - really just boils down to whether they keep Farrell. Maybe they decide they do want to upgrade at blocking tight end where there are a couple of options (the return of former team captain Marcedes Lewis perhaps)? If they cut Farrell for the cap space, they almost certainly just go for depth through the draft. Here are the best blocking tight ends out there.

POSSIBLE FREE AGENT OPTIONS: Marcedes Lewis, Charlie Woerner, Geoff Swaim, Drew Sample, Mycole Pruitt, Blake Bell, Adam Trautman, Colby Parkinson

NFL Free Agency Previews

Discover our other breakdowns for the rest of the league ahead of 2024 NFL free agency: