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Touchdown Jaguars!
Touchdown Jaguars!
Episode 87: Trevor Lawrence's Historic Contract + 6 Players Who Need to Step Up For the Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars made history this month through the extension they offered to Trevor Lawrence, which will keep him in the 904 for a while. Join us as we dissect this ultra deal, which ties Lawrence with Joe Burrow as the top earner in the league by annual salary. This episode promises a deep dive into the implications for the Jaguars, including reactions from fans and analysts, and a under-the-radar reason Lawrence was paid.
We'll also spotlight the crucial players whose performances will be vital for the Jaguars' success this season. From Tank Bigsby's redemption arc and Brenton Strange's promising showing at organized team activities to the key defensive roles of Devin Lloyd and Ezra Cleveland, discover how each of these players could help the Jaguars reclaim the AFC South.
Don't miss this compelling episode as we explore the Jaguars' ambitions and the exciting season ahead.
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James Johnson and Phil Smith bring you the best and most up to date Jacksonville Jaguars news. "Touchdown Jaguars!" is a tribute to the prospective ownership group "Touchdown Jacksonville!" In 1991, the NFL announced plans to add two expansion teams and "Touchdown Jacksonville!" announced its bid for a team, and Jacksonville was ultimately chosen as one of five finalists. In November 1993, the NFL owners voted 26–2 in favor of awarding the 30th franchise to Jacksonville. James and Phil have been fans of the franchise ever since and have had the honor (and sometimes dishonor) of covering the team professionally since 2017. The rest as they say, is history.
Still running and go. That is a goal. And two Touchdown Jacksonville. A hundred and nine yards Incredible Play action. Four goals Upstairs, wide open. Tommy Bohannon Touchdown Jacksonville, looking for Jimmy in the end zone. Touchdown Jaguars. Touchdown Jaguars. Touchdown Jaguars.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. Here are your hosts, james Johnson and Phil Smith. All right, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode 87 of the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. I am your host for today, james Johnson riding his solo for what is a retake? Actually, as Phil and I we recorded an episode yesterday and, as things often do happen in the podcasting world, we had some technical issues with the audio, so the recording that me and Phil did together as a duo yesterday we will have to scrap that one and unfortunately Phil was busy today so he couldn't join me to re-record. But I told him to go out. Uh, do his thing, don't worry about it, I'll handle it solo, and then he can rejoin me on next weekend. We could do what we do, as always, as the uh, baddest tandem in jaguar's podcasting history. So, um, yep, as I said, I'll be handling this one solo, as we have a big time historic topic to talk about this week or for this episode, the news or the topic itself actually happened last week as Trevor Lawrence got his massive contract, which we were expecting.
Speaker 1:It was just a matter of when, but Trevor Lawrence broke the bank and became he's tied for it, at least became the highest paid player in NFL history in terms of annual yearly salary. He is now tied with Joe Burrow with his figure, which is a huge, huge deal for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who have never really had the answer at the quarterback position, aside from maybe Mark Brunel, and of course, it's the biggest contract in team history. So he overtook Josh Allen there. So we'll get into that and all of the opinions floating around on his contract. Never seen so many people so upset with what Shotgun is doing with his money, and you know getting upset with somebody else's, you know pockets and pocket watching. But nonetheless, that's what comes with the NFL, right, that's what comes with fandom of the NFL. That's what comes with the quarterback position If you are Trevor Lawrence and all of these guys who've been critiqued about the amount of money they're making.
Speaker 1:So yeah, nonetheless, we'll talk about that news and then after that, we'll transition into a topic that came to mind this week for me, which was, you know, I wanted to do a list of players I'll probably do three on offense, three on defense, but a list of players who need to take that step this year, after last year kind of struggling or just not playing to their potential who need to take that step this year if this team is to, you know, get where they need to get and not only that, but overtake the Houston Texans for the first place spot in the AFC division and, you know, approve upon what they did last year. As we all know, last year was a highly disappointing season when looking at the fact that they pretty much relinquished the lead of the division with a terrible skid there at the end of the season. So we'll look at three players on both sides of the ball that you know need to take that step to get this team where it needs to be. But before we do that, of course we got to plug all of the social media handles, right? You can find me again, james Johnson, on Twitter. At SportsGrind, underscore Dunn, you can find our content in terms of. You know everything you need to know about the Touchdown Jaguars podcast on TouchdownJaguarscom. We have archived episodes and we have some articles on there as well.
Speaker 1:I have to finish up those scouting reports that I was doing on the draft class. So, for those of you who have been waiting on it, fear not, I haven't forgotten about them, just have been kind of busy as of late. But you know, when things slow down I'll go forgotten about them. I just have been kind of busy as of late, but you know, when things slow down, I'll go ahead and wrap those up. I think I am on. I just finished Jarrion Jones, so I will be going to the fourth round. Next, in terms of, uh, we got Foster, I think, coming up in. Uh, the rest of the crew as well. So be on the lookout for those articles and the rest of the crew as well. So be on the lookout for those articles.
Speaker 1:Eventually, in terms of my co-host, my partner in crime, you can follow Phil at Phil the Filipino on Twitter. And as for this handle, or as for the handle for this podcast, you can find us at tdjaguarspod. Again, that's at tdjaguarspod, for those of you who are looking to interact with the podcast page on twitter. And, as always, uh, before we get into the topics, we have to pay the bills right. And uh, shout out to our, give a shout out to our sponsor, seat geek, who is your go-to place for your ticketing needs. Uh, whether that's sporting events, which we cover, of course, we cover the jacksonville jaguars here in the nfl or it's a concert whatever the case may be, seat geek has you covered with your ticketing needs and, for the first time, users of seat geek, we can save you some money here at the Touchdown Jaguars podcast by simply using our promotion code Touchdown Jaguars, which will give you $20 off of your first order. So go ahead there and save yourself some money, because everything is going up and tickets for your favorite events are especially going up. So save it where you can and also help us out in terms of keeping the lights on for the touchdown Jaguars podcast.
Speaker 1:So, whether it's, you know again within the sporting world, nfl, nba, you know the NBA. Just, the NBA season is now over with a shout out to the Boston Celtics who uh won the finals. I know, phil is like sick because, as we all know, he's a Dallas Mavericks fan, but Dallas will bounce back and, uh, they got some good pieces there. But, uh, whether it's the NFL NBA, uh, mls. You know the most popular uh sport in the world soccer, right, mls. You know the most popular sport in the world, soccer, right? Whatever the case may be, in the sporting world, mlb, which is going on right now. They got you covered there. They got you covered in terms of you know, again, as I said, your concerts need for your favorite, which I know. Daily's Place has a lot of concerts which we are very familiar with as jags fans. So, um, yeah, your, you know your concerts. Your, you know aw events, which you know they have a connection with the jacksonville jaguars. You name it, seat geek has you covered. And again, we can save you 20 by simply using our promo promo code, which is touchdown jaguars.
Speaker 1:All right, so with all of that out of the way, let's get into the topics at hand here, right, and, as I said, you know. First topic is the historic news that we got last week on I think it was the 13th of june exactly Trevor Lawrence getting that contract that we were all anticipating him getting. He agreed to a five year deal worth two hundred seventy five million, which was it's an extension, of course which includes two hundred million in guaranteed money and one hundred and forty two million in fully guaranteed money $142 million in fully guaranteed money On average. That ties him, as I said earlier, with Joe Burrow for $55 million a year, which is the highest figure in NFL history. So not only did Trevor Lawrence break the bank, but Trevor Lawrence getting the Jags in the history books temporarily because, as we all know, know, with the quarterback contracts it's the next man up, so wouldn't be shocked if he isn't the highest paid player alongside Joe Burrow for much longer. You know, you got contracts like Tua coming up. I think it's another quarterback that's escaping my mind right now with a contract that's coming up, and it would not shock me one bit, even if you can argue that they don't have the accolades as trevor lawrence or anybody else that's been paid before them. Uh, that they will, or their agents will at least attempt to top that figure.
Speaker 1:But nonetheless, this is exciting news for the jacksonville jaguars fan base. Right, we can all reflect upon how elated we were when we knew we were going to get Trevor Lawrence, when the Jets answered our prayers and beat the Rams on that beautiful day I think it was a day, it wasn't a night, and Frank Gore got that first down. That will always stick in my mind that secured the Jacksonville Jaguars getting Trevor Lawrence. This is what we dreamed about when we first drafted him is that we would revisit this situation after he signed his rookie contract and give him a contract extension. And here we are, as he has played well enough.
Speaker 1:Some people would disagree with that, but by the organization standard and by Shotgun's standard, he's played well enough to receive a contract extension, and, like many Jags fans, I'm excited for him. And I and I think I shared this with Phil I'm not mad at all with the Jacksonville Jaguars paying Trevor Lawrence, although they could have waited, but I was on the side of the table that wanted to get him paid as soon as possible. You know we've been hard and critical on Trent Baalke here, but one thing I'll say is shout outs to him for getting this done. And not only that, though, but I never really doubted Trent's ability in terms of getting the quarterback position taken care of when it comes to paying Trevor Lawrence. Now, in terms of evaluating quarterbacks, that's a whole nother thing, but in terms of paying Trevor Lawrence and keeping him long term, I never really doubted his ability to do that, because I mean, let's face it, man, when you're a GM and you have your guy at quarterback, you just have to pay and fork over whatever it is that it takes to keep that person. You know, if you have a quarterback, as Scott Van Pelt said on ESPN SportsCenter, if you have a guy that gives you a chance, that's what you pay for, right, you know, and it might be costly, whatever the case may be, but when it comes to that position, it is what it is and you just got to pay your guy. But going back to what I was saying with Trent Baalke, I never really doubted as one of his harshest critics as probably his harshest critic, let's call it what it is never really doubted his ability to get this contract done. Because when you look at history too, he, you know he had no issues with paying Colin Kaepernick with a 49ers Right. We remember that. I can remember waking up one day and just seeing Cap just break the bank right and um, you know, that just kind of showed that you know for Trent Baalke and all his flaws. One thing he does recognize is, you know, when it comes time to take care of your quarterback, he can do it. And this is, you know, of course, the most important contract that he's ever negotiated, and Shahid Khan as well. Shahid Khan was in on it. They said um, I think it was um Trevor himself who said Shahid Khan, you know, was in communication with him as well, but you know, the most important contract that Trent Baalke and Shahid Khan have had dealings with.
Speaker 1:Now, of course, on today, trevor met with the media. Um, I did not get to see all of that press conference because I was at work. I did get to see like the first five minutes of it because it was like five minutes before I clocked in to work, and I also have seen some of the cutouts in the clips. You know some of the notable quotes on Twitter in terms of what he said. You know, one thing that stood out was you know he said that, he, you.
Speaker 1:When we look at the deal in totality and the average and all of that, it looks like a massive deal, right. But then when you look at, like, the practical guarantees and the kind of structure and the makeup of the deal, it's not as bad as people are making it seem right. And not only that, though. People forget man, the salary cap goes up a decent amount each year. The NFL they're bringing in bank and, as a result, they could pour more and more until the salary cap is going up every year. So in two years this deal might not seem as bad as it does now. Not that it's bad to begin with.
Speaker 1:But you know, when you look at how the deal is structured and practical guarantees, I think trevor lawrence is like maybe 10th on the list somewhere in terms of practical guarantees. And you look at others, you know you got like lamar jackson at the top of the list here. I got a list pulled up from spot track here, um, where he's got 51.8 million, jared golf just below him, 48.4. Who? He signed his deal just before trevor lawrence. He was the quarterback to get his deal just before trevor lawrence. And then you have a list of these, all these other quarterbacks, and then you know trevor lawrence, who's like ninth or tenth on the list. So in terms of that perspective, um, you know he's making 10 billion less than lamar jackson. Give or take there, right.
Speaker 1:But going back to what I was saying, one thing that Trevor was saying is you know he set the deal up the way that it was set up, or he requested for the deal to be set up the way that it was was because you know he wanted to be able to bring in talent around him, and I mean there's actually, you know, some people will say, break the owner's pockets, right, and I totally understand that and I agree with that too. But I also understand those who have taken the route that Trevor has and Tom Brady, you know, was another guy that took this route of, you know, not breaking the bank, so to speak, but, you know, leaving some room for others to be able to get deals as well. But that was a smart decision on Trevor Lawrence's part, because it is early in his career and because he hasn't and it isn't just him, but the team as a whole, the organization as a whole, should I say I shouldn't even put this on him but the organization as a whole haven't been able to get past round one of the playoffs, which means, you know, improvements need to be made and additions need to be made. Now they did some of that this offseason as well, and you know Trevor even talked about it. He feels like it's the best team that he's had around him since he's been in the NFL. But the point I'm making when you look at last year and the year before, you know them, you know hitting the buzzsaw that's known as the Kansas City Chiefs. It's clear that there is room and you know more dishes need to be made and more space needs to be there for them to take that next step if possible now. Maybe they'll take that step this year with what they've done. But if they don't take that step, you know it was important he felt like for there to be space and opportunity for them to get there in terms of salary need to get their deals as well, right. And then you know, trayvon Walker maybe will need to get his down the road.
Speaker 1:You know somebody drafted with Trevor in, tyson Campbell, who was, you know, the first pick of Trevor's draft in the second round. So he was the first pick in the following round after Trevor. You know his contract situation still needs to be, uh, taken care of. Andre Sisko has a contract situation uh, that needs to be taken care of. So you know that was one thing that kind of stood out.
Speaker 1:Again, I haven't seen the whole press conference that Trevor said. That caught my eye and um, yeah, I just can't wait to see what the Jacksonville Jaguars can do around him. And also, man, I mean that's important because, again, me as a Trent Baalke critic, you know that space for making mistakes needs to be there, because we've seen Trent Baalke take some swings in free agency and miss. Right now he's got a lot of hits in free agency too, admittedly. But you know we've seen him bring in some guys here that weren't here but for a cup of tea, you know, maybe two years or whatever the case may be, and then they were gone. You know Trevor couldn't even get acclimated with him. They were here and gone so short in terms of free agency. So as good as Trent has been in free agency, he's also shown us, you know, he can make some mistakes there as well. So there is that.
Speaker 1:But all of that said, I am absolutely elated for Trevor, lawrence and his family. They actually took the picture of him and Marissa. They did it like their first picture in Jacksville and then they did the latest picture of them sitting at the contract table while he signed in the deal, and I just thought that was just the neatest thing to. You know, finally have people that are drafted here that we're taking care of, right, that's another important thing. Here too, that is kind of getting overlooked. You know, the Jacksonville Jaguars have kind of been one of those teams who haven't taken care of their own like they should. They have a history of that. And to see this team doing that right, um, between Trevor this year and Josh Allen this year, even though you know it took a little longer than expected, nonetheless he still got his bag and he still was a first round pick that the Jacksonville Jaguars have taken care of and we want to make that the norm around here. What better way to start that off and, you know, showcase that that will be the case heading forward. Then, you know, paying josh allen the highest paid contract in jaguar's history at that time and then trevor overtook him and then paying trevor the highest paid contract in jaguar's history and in nfl history, right, that sets a great example heading forward for those.
Speaker 1:You know looking um, and you know trayvon walk's even talked about this already. You know like it was an article on NFL Network and just a quote he made. I think he recently had a um football camp where the media caught up with him and he was saying, like they asked him about you know, trevor Lawrence getting that deal and you know how does it feel to see a player be taken care of by the franchise and he said you know, that could be me next, and you know how does it feel to see a player be taken care of by the franchise. And he said you know that could be me next, and you know I'm just paraphrasing him, but that could be me next. So that definitely speaks volumes to these younger players that are coming up with deal situations behind Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 1:And you know, you just want to put it out there that we are functioning like a NFL franchise should, after years and years and years of not functioning like one and just looking as dysfunctional as possible. Right, we're coming off of the Urban Meyer situation and coming off of the Tom Coughlin debacle and losing our best player in history you know that you could probably argue which is Jalen Ramsey Right, he was supposed to be a longtime Jaguar and that was not the case. Jalen ramsey right, he was supposed to be a long time jaguar and that was not the case. And, uh, it's a trail of history similar to that just all throughout the jaguars history that just has just has stained his career. Uh, this this franchise's history. And uh, it looks like we're trending at least in the right direction in terms of getting that fixed and taking care of our own now, of course, the contract has had a lot of backlash from a lot of national pundits and it's also been some national pundits I'll give them their props as well that have praised the contract, like chris canty, who I wouldn't mind getting on this podcast one day.
Speaker 1:But you know chris canty and, um, you know his crew at his podcast I don't know the name of the podcast but I know it's with espn and phil has told me this. They are big supporters of the jaguars and, uh, maybe even kate adams I know she has a lot of positive stuff to say about the jaguars. But you know there have been some people that have actually uh said this was the right move in terms of national analysts, but it was. It has been way more people to come out to say that it wasn't the right move. Right, and one of the most notables were uh, was emmanuel acho right, which I actually tweeted about this one uh, where he was saying trevor lawrence got paid for what he did at clemson. You know that whole crew on the I think the show is called Speak on FS1 that whole crew like really and showing Trevor a lot of love, which I mean if you don't watch a lot of Jaguars games.
Speaker 1:You, you can see, you know why they would come to the conclusions that they would come to, and speaking of which I mean Phil kind of touched on this on the episode that we recorded before this that we had to scrap. You know, trevor Lawrence is becoming that guy. When you hear an opinion on him, you can know who watches football and who doesn't, and who's a casual and who's not, and you know he does make those guys come off as casuals. But going back to Emmanuel Acho, you know he was just saying that Trevor Lawrence was getting paid for what he did at Clemson and I, you know, I put out a tweet about it in response to that. And Emmanuel is another guy that I would like to get on this podcast and just have that conversation with, for the simple fact that his comments just really puzzled me, as you all can see with my reply, and I don't feel he could be any more incorrect than he is Now. Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 1:Trevor Lawrence hasn't been perfect, by any means right, and there have been questionable spurts in his career. But one thing I can say about Trevor is that part of why they gave him this deal is because he's just shown the ability which is very important for a quarterback to overcome adversity. That's really all he's done since he became a Jacksonville Jaguar. In his first year as a rookie, shaq Khan made a potentially catastrophic mistake at that time. Thank God Trevor was able to get over it by pairing him with the wrong head coach and probably the worst head coach hire in NFL history in Urban Meyer, and that was a disaster, and you know you put a lot of people in that situation as a rookie and they may not come out of it and recover from it. But Trevor did lo and behold and you know kudos to the organization for you know circling around and getting Doug Peterson, getting somebody who knew what they were doing after making that tragic mistake, but that could have been a catastrophe. Long story short, and Trevor Lawrence showed the ability. You know, once he got some proper or received some proper NFL coaching from Doug Peterson and his staff, that he could overcome a rookie season. That was pretty forgettable, and that's another thing, though A lot of people that are looking at the totality of Trevor Lawrence's career right, they're looking at their rookie season, they're factoring in their rookie season and possibly Emmanuel's doing that too, and in most people's minds.
Speaker 1:That season should be thrown out. You know what I'm saying. Anybody coached by Urban Meyer in their rookie season, anybody that endured that and endured struggles, that should be thrown out of the window. Because the Jaguars did not have a grown man running the organization and they did not have a leader running the organization at the time. Well, actually, trevor was the leader for the team, but he had to be a little bit too much of a leader because their head coach. But he had to be a little bit too much of a leader because their head coach, who was twice his age, because that guy couldn't learn how to treat people Right and that guy didn't learn how to get the best out of young men and veterans the right way. So you know, trevor Lawrence had to do a lot of his job in some ways, which that probably made it even harder on Trevor, who needs to be focusing, especially as a rookie, on the stuff on the field right instead of the stuff off of the field. But you know that's behind us and we're past that. He got over that. That's what I'm saying. Long story short, he overcame that stain on his rookie season and another thing he's overcome again, going back to you know me being Trent Baalke's harshest critic. He's overcome. In my opinion, he's overcome somewhat having an anchor tied to his ankle in terms of his GM.
Speaker 1:You all have heard me have this conversation. Gm and quarterback pairings are very important and I don't think, when you look at the top teams in the league, that Trevor Lawrence has the luxury in terms of team building and you know the GM that is alongside these other quarterbacks. He doesn't have that luxury, and what I mean by that is Trent Baalke hasn't really helped Trevor outside of the first round and eventually that's going to have to change right. Of course, trent has been pretty solid in the first round, at least with the Jaguars. You know, with the 49ers it was kind of an issue there too, but with the Jaguars he's been solid in the first round.
Speaker 1:But now that Trevor Lawrence is making all this money and Josh Allen is making all this money and you know you have Tyson and Andre Sisko making a lot of money as well you are going to have to stop relying on free agency as heavily as you you are, and you're going to have to start hitting outside of round one for this thing to work. And that's what I like about this contract. Now that I'm thinking about it, trevor's contract is going to force trent balky to potentially be a good gm. We'll see. I mean, you can't be what you aren't, you know. So if trent balky has it, we'll be able to see his evaluating skills and see what he can do outside of round two and we'll be able to see if he can really build a team now that he does not probably, or he won't have the luxury or as much of a luxury, because, again, trevor's contract was friendly but again some other players are going to have to get paid too that are going to eat up that space that he left available.
Speaker 1:Eventually, we're going to find out if Trent Baalke can build a team and he can draft right, if he can hit on parts of the draft that have made these other teams that have won Super Bowls. Get where they are right. The Kansas City Chiefs right. Getting guys like Pacheco in the sixth round and you, you know, getting people like Creed Humphrey in like, I think, like the third or second round, right. You know they have done very good outside of round one, in addition to doing good in round one. They've done good outside of round one and that's why they are where they are and that's why it's a gap between them and the Jacksonville Jaguars. But you know, I don't want to go down that rabbit hole.
Speaker 1:But sticking to the topic at hand, trevor Lawrence, overcoming the flaws and the misses on Trent Baalke's part too, somebody who you know in terms of team building aspect, had this team in a situation where they drafted in the first round back-to-back years. Well, you know the the year that Trevor was drafted don't fall on Trent because he wasn't the GM, but you know the year afterwards, you know they were back to drafting first overall and that's where they took Trayvon Walker. So he's overcome, you know, not having a guy at GM. To be honest with you, in my opinion at least, some people argue differently, but this is the same guy that put that line in front of Trevor Lawrence, that caused Trevor Lawrence to endure three injuries. So that makes that point for me. You see where I'm coming from with that people.
Speaker 1:But Overcoming the aspect of having a guy who may not be in the top 20 as a GM shows Trevor Lawrence resilience. And then he's shown the resilience his himself from the mistakes he's made right. Prime example was that playoff game. Right, his first playoff game got off to a horrendous start and then, you know, came back in the second half. Well, they kind of started to come back um late in this, the second quarter. But you know they made that second half comeback and he just showed his ability to just hang in there and overcome a lot of mistakes where you know he was just throwing balls to the opposition that people were like, oh my God. Like you know, trevor, you're better than that season throughout the course of his career when you're looking at it from a level or a standpoint of from his first year of having Urban Meyer to his second year with Doug Peterson.
Speaker 1:But he's shown it on many levels his ability to be resilient, overcome mistakes, and that's all you can ask for for the at the quarterback position. That's the most important thing that you can ask for at the quarterback position, because that is the person in the building, in the organization, that is going to face the most adversity. Not Shotgun, because Shotgun's loaded in his pockets and he'll continue to get money. Not necessarily Trent Baalke, because Shotgun doesn't. To me, and a lot of people would agree, ain't really holding Trent Barkley accountable as he should. Right, it's Trevor Lawrence who's under the most pressure in that building and he's shown that he's more than able to handle that pressure and that's a big part of why he got this contract.
Speaker 1:As opposed to what Acho was saying we'll circle back around to that, bring it home here. As opposed to what Acho was saying in terms of this guy getting paid for being basically a prodigy at Clemson. Now does Trevor Lawrence have room to improve and he needs to clean up the fumbles, and what have you? Yes, he does, and he needs to make significant strides to, you know, be able to overtake Patrick Mahomes and what have you. But to sit here and ignore that resilience that he's shown and say, hey, you know, let him go out there and prove it once again. When he's proven it you know, I just gave you three examples when he's proven it time and time again, you know you might be revisiting the Josh Allen situation. If you say, hey, let's let this go. Go, let this guy go out there and prove it one more time, because when you circle back around to this next year, he's already giving you proof that he can overcome adversity, whatever hurdles we're going to face him this year. Why even give him the opportunity to show you that he can overcome those hurdles and drive up the price in terms of this astronomical quarterback market. And that's not to say we don't want him to continue to prove that he can handle adversity. But from a financial standpoint it's smart to get it done now as opposed to next year.
Speaker 1:And this is a prime example of the team kind of learning from their mistakes Trent Balky, learning from their mistake. They did this with Josh Allen last year. The man went out and had 17 sacks the most what sacks in Jaguars history in a season. Right, and you know he was what second in sack total for the league in terms of last year. I think he was only behind JJ Watt, if I'm not mistaken. So if you're Trent Baalke, you got some egg on your face after that and then when Josh Allen circled back around to it and said, run me the money that you should have run me last year but hey, by the way, it's a lot more than it was last year, because I don't know if you were looking at me while you were in the press box, but I just threw down 17 sacks and led this team in sacks and was your best pass rusher, without a shadow of a doubt, that is not the game to play with the quarterback position, the highest paid position in the NFL, and one cannot fault Trent Baalke for getting this done right now. So I am excited heading forward to see Trevor Lawrence live up to this contract and silence all the haters, because you better believe that I, james Johnson, will be chirping all throughout the season as Trevor is proving these people wrong and proving that he was well worth that money. You can bet your bottom dollar that Phil will be joining me too, and we'll be chirping from the Touchdown Jaguars podcast account and our own personal accounts as well. All of these opinions have certainly set up for a loud, loud Jaguars regular season If Trevor Lawrence can live up to that deal and you know, everything falls into place around him as well and the Jaguars can recover from the plummet they had last year. So enough on Trevor Lawrence's contract.
Speaker 1:I guess we may circle back around to it when Phil is back, but we'll get into my other topic that I mentioned that we wanted to discuss here, which is, you know, I wanted to throw down a list here of players who need to take a step this year for this team to get where they need to get. Not only that, but just some guys that we really want to see take that step Right, because the expectations, at least from what I'm looking at on this list, from what I'm looking at on this list, yeah, expectations for most of these guys is pretty high because and I say most because these guys were, you know, high round draft picks, so you know they kind of fit into that subject that I was mentioning earlier, right of Trent Balky, just not getting what he needs and just missing on players outside of round one. So it correlates to something I was mentioning earlier. But we'll start on the offensive side of the ball and we'll start with a guy I mean it's the obvious right, it would be Tank Bigsby, who you know John Shipley kind of talked about this on his podcast. Him and Gus Shout out to John Shipley and Gus, who are doing good work covering the Jacksonville Jaguars. But you know just everything the Jaguars have been saying and you listen to them in the press conferences and you know people like Gus and John are going to the practices and they're seeing how the team is utilizing Tank and you can kind of gauge what they want from him and the expectations they have on them from, you know watching these practices from him and the expectations they have on them from you know watching these practices. But the Jets are real Jaguars, as John Shipley said are pretty much begging Tank Bigsby to alleviate some of this pressure off of Travis Etienne, who's a dynamic running back himself.
Speaker 1:But the purpose of drafting Tank Bigsby was to get that hammer for the offense and last year we did not get that. We got a lot of fumbling and a lot of rookie mistakes. That being said, you know like it was his rookie season. You know, I think for people to give up on a player, especially a running back, in their rookie season, that's a little bit drastic, right? Maybe you know, when you start seeing those same issues this year, then you start visiting that conversation. But it was not pretty for Tank Bixby, who the Jaguars drafted in the third round and they drafted and brought into this organization knowing they needed that power back to assist Travis Etienne. And you can definitely say Travis Etienne got very little help from Tank Bixby in terms of manning that backfield and I mean going back to what I was saying earlier.
Speaker 1:He's very important to this offense's success because if you you just look in the past, right, you know I reflect and mention this all the time on the podcast. You go back to that 2017 season that you know. Doug Peterson won the Super Bowl with the Eagles and it was not just one running back that helped him get there right, like they had a committee of guys. Like it was a different dude stepping up each week, whether that was, um, like Yaron Smallwood or, uh, legarrett Blunt who that's who the jaguars need taint biggs, b2b. They need him to take on that legaric blunt role for this offense. Or cory clement, or jay ajayi you know it was just somebody different each week. That just like they had a lot of injuries but they had great numbers there and somebody stepped up each week to help them, you know, get what they need to get done there Miles Sanders, if I'm not mistaken. You know that was the leader of the group, if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 1:But, um, make no mistake about it, travis Etienne won't be able to do this by himself at that running back position, and that is exactly why Tank Bigsby was brought into this organization and that's why he was drafted high as he was. You know, we have this argument all the time, like drafting running backs high is probably something the organization can do away with. But if you're going to do it, you better believe that selection is going to come with a lot of scrutiny when you're drafting a running back in the third round. And he's not living up to expectations. So there are a lot of eyes on Tank Bigsby right now and he needs to improve upon last year and be able to get those jack that, get the jaguars those hard yards, and of course the line in front of him has to help him with that too. They're part of the issue too. But, um, you know what this offense like is the ability to get those hard yards.
Speaker 1:I got tired of seeing people getting hit in the backfield and stopped in the backfield and not able to, you know, bring a power dynamic to this offense. Right, you know, the offense just flat out looked like they were outmanned, out-physicaled when it comes to the trenches and it comes to the running back position, aside from anybody named Travis Etienne. But when you hear Doug Peterson say like hey, you know we want to alleviate some carries off of Travis, which is probably because you know they want him to not only help in the backfield but help as a receiver too, you know that's what John Shipley is referring to when he's saying they pretty much beg and take big speed to take the lead. And you know, again, like, what they're seeing from practice and how they're using him in practice and the opportunities they're giving him in practice. It just seems like and these are practices I haven't been to, we just got to rely on the reporters, um, but it really seems like this team really wants taint bixby to take another step and they need him to take another step. So he's the first guy on the list.
Speaker 1:Next guy is somebody drafted in the same class as him, right on the offensive side of the ball as well, and, you know, somebody brought in for the same reasons as Taint, to make this offense more physical, and that is Brenton Strange, who you know. The reason I mentioned him is because shout-outs to Travis Holmes, who covers the Jaguars for SB Nation uh, he has, you know, been praising Brenton Strange and the improvements that he has made, or you know how much better he's looking in terms of um this offseason as opposed to last offseason. Now the pads haven't gone on, but you know, we can only go by what you know they're, uh, they're able to do right now and currently without the pads, but Brent Strange is a guy that Travis Holmes man has really praised and, uh, his stock is up according to Travis Holmes and what he's shown in in, uh, in, in OTAs I might have said training camp earlier, but OTAs, and you know it looks like. You know they have big plans for him as well. You know, obviously that would be the case if you draft a guy in the second round, right, but, um, you know it looks like. You know they have big plans for him as well. You know, obviously that would be the case if you draft a guy in the second round, right. But you know you see tweets and whatnot and things on Twitter, you know, indicating that. You know Strange is going to be a vital part of, you know, the run game and maybe pulling in some fullback, of course, blocking as an inline blocker as well.
Speaker 1:I mean, that's all we pretty much heard last year is what he could do there and what he's supposed to be able to do there, and I believe Brenton will answer the call. I don't know. I just I just got a feeling about him in terms of him being able to fulfill his potential and it may be, you know, maybe the tight end history with Penn State tight ends, maybe that's it, um, but he's one of these guys that I can't wait to get to training camp to watch and see where he is, especially when the pads go on. That'll tell a lot for him, because a lot of what his job and his role is for this team involves being physical. Right, he's not Evan Ingram, where they're gonna rely on him to catch a bunch of passes although you know, when you get a guy in the second round, you do want him to be an effective pass catcher, we'll say that. But more so, his role is to bring physicality to this offense and you know he just came up short in terms of being able to help there. Now, look, I will say this too like even for none pass catching, tight ends the tight end position is a position we say this all the time where you know they just don't really stand out. Year one, you know, and it's a learning curve and it's an adjustment, and I think that could be applied to inline block and tight ends like Strange as well. So, granted his draft status, I am looking forward and hoping that Brenton Strange and I believe that Brenton Strange will take that next leap, and he's already off to a good start in doing so by the reports that are coming out of OTAs. Then when you look at the next name that I want to go to here, it is in the trenches. As I mentioned, those guys got to do a better job too as well.
Speaker 1:But Ezra Cleveland, who received a pretty good deal, was re-signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason after they traded for him. I think they traded a fifth rounder for him last year and acquired him from the Minnesota Vikings. Obviously you know they brought him in with intentions to start. Obviously, when you trade for somebody in, you know the November point of the season. A lot of times you need that guy desperately or you need him to a high degree, and that was the case. Uh, the jacksville jack was brought him in thinking that you know he would be the answer at guard, because they just really didn't have an answer there aside from brandon scherf, who struggled himself and was a penalty machine himself and was a shell to himself as well. But they need a better play at the guard position. So they brought in Ezra.
Speaker 1:But Ezra was just not a hundred percent. You know battle injuries and just couldn't give him what they needed at that point. But obviously they believe he can now that he's a hundred percent healthy, because they did resign him and you know they gave him a substantial deal. I mean he's not getting paid top guard money but he's certainly getting paid enough money to the point where you'll look at it and say like, hey man, like we need you to be a starting guard and we need you to play much better than what we saw last year. And you know he's going to stand out if he does not play well because of the money that he's making, which again, is not top guard money but money notable enough to the point where everybody believes that he should be the starting guard.
Speaker 1:And the moves the Jags made in the offseason indicate that they want him to be that answer at guard. And not only that, but they might not have any doubts that he can be, because they didn't really draft any guys in the late round to develop behind them. They got Cooper Hodges last year, but that was last year, before they even had Cleveland on the team. So you know that just kind of shows, you know their moves in the offseason, just kind of show their confidence that Ezra Cleveland is going to step to the plate and get the job done. I mean for crying out loud. We certainly hope he can, after seeing how Trevor Lawrence got beat up last year with the three injuries, after seeing how Trevor Lawrence got beat up last year with the three injuries, after seeing our running backs get smacked around in the backfield although you know I just mentioned Tank Biggs we struggled in general, it wasn't just the line, but the the offensive line certainly didn't do our running backs any favors either.
Speaker 1:It can go both ways right, and it will be interesting to see if Ezra Cleveland can be what the Jaguars need at the offensive guard position. I mean, just going back to that. You know that infamous year with the Philadelphia Eagles, that 2017 season. You know the guard play was on point that year for Doug Peterson man and you know Doug is probably hoping for that out of Ezra Cleveland, of Ezra Cleveland, and if they can get it, you know, and they can, you know add that dynamic in terms of the physicality and getting the run game going, that's really what will get this offense going and that is really what will help Press Taylor. That's really what will help Trevor Lawrence. That's really what will help this offense in general is being able to get that run game going, and Ezra Cleveland is going to have to play a role in that, although most would view him more so as a pass pro a better pass pro or a pass protector, um, than a better run blocker. But they they're going to need him to contribute from the aspect of that run game as well. So no doubt eyes will be on him in training camp, and not just training camp, but eyes will be on him during the regular season too.
Speaker 1:So, continuing on here, um, I will go to the only first round pick I have on this list, which is, uh, devin lloyd, who the report's coming out of camp again I think this was gus and john shipley on their podcast the report's coming out of campus that devin lloy Lloyd has come to camp looking straight, yoked up, looking like a bouncer that'll throw you out of the club, right, if you don't, you know if you come in there acting up. So, um, he certainly has come into camp with the right mindset. You know just seeing what kind of shape he's in and what kind of physical condition he's in, and I can't wait to get to see him with my own eyes and uh, uh, you know see what all the hype is about. But you know, he kind of came into camp this year like Andre Cisco did last year, where you know everybody. You couldn't notice, but no, uh, help but notice that this young man has been putting in. You know the work in the weight room and now it's time for that to not only translate in the weight room but on the field.
Speaker 1:Um, as you know, we this is a guy we traded up for, um, we traded up for and acquired at a very important position in football the middle linebacker position where, for the most part, devin Lloyd's career as a Jacksonville Jaguars has been largely disappointing. I can recall last year it was maybe a series in the Titans game I have to go back and look at it, I might can even find it on Twitter but maybe a series in the Titans game where Devin Lloyd was out there struggling and just missed two tackles in one series, two important tackles in one series. It may have been him. If it wasn't, please forgive me, but I feel like it was Devin Lloyd. And yeah, sometimes he just looks lost and you know it was even times where people were questioning his effort, you know, sometimes amongst Twitter circles and what have you, but the thought process is that Ryan Nielsen is going to really help him take that step Right and he has the right guy beside him, foye Lewakin, who received a you know a nice deal of his own as well to lead him and show him the way and show him the ropes, and he and and Lloyd also kind of has some motivation from the standpoint of what's behind him too the Jaguars went two rounds later and drafted Chad Moomer behind him right.
Speaker 1:So in a way that should spark a fire under you too, although Chad Mooma has struggled as well. But that's not normal for a team to draft in that way Get a middle linebacker and one or an interior linebacker in round one and then get one in round three, despite also having Foye and Lewakin on the roster as well. I think Foye was on the roster at that time. So I mean, you know, I personally I don't care if I am a first round pick. I wouldn't be feeling like I didn't have to look over my shoulder after the Jaguars drafted a notable draft pick in Chad Moomer as well, who you know.
Speaker 1:Chad Moomer, coming out of Wyoming, had good grades and a lot of people think he should have, you know, been selected around ahead of where he was. But I digress from my point. But the thought process is that Ryan Nielsen can help him, you know, with his new scheme, get him in better position to thrive, and not only that, but you know they got a lot of guys like um that we have heard about often this offseason, like uh coach house, who was a, you know, a linebackers coach, if I'm not mistaken, and all of these additions that were made in the offseason from a staff perspective that it seems like should really help Devin Lloyd get to where he needs to be. And when you look at the lineage of middle linebackers and interior linebackers for this team, man, I hate to put some pressure on the young man, but I will put this pressure on him. You're playing for an organization that has high expectations out of the middle linebacker position from the fans perspective. Right? We going through guys like the great Mike Peterson and Daryl Smith, one of the most underrated players in not just jazz history but in football history, paul Puzlusny, who shout out to Paul, we met him at the draft party took a picture with Paul Puzlusny. We need to post that, actually, but we made, we met the GOAT and Leon Searcy and Josh Scobie as well, and took a picture with them. And Josh Scobie as well, and took a picture with them. But you know, it's guys like that that you got to live up to what they brought to the table in terms of leadership, and also on the field as well, and performance as well, man. So hopefully he will fall into that mold of those guys that we have had in the future and he may be the guy on this list that I will pay the most attention to, just for the simple fact that he's a former first round pick in terms of taking that step that he needs to take.
Speaker 1:And then, after Lloyd, I'll talk about somebody who plays in front of him in Devon Hamilton, who you know was given a massive deal, a pretty sizable deal, should I say, by Trent Baalke as well, and hasn't, you know, met expectations right. And you know we given a massive deal, a pretty sizable deal, should I say, by Trent Baalke as well, and hasn't, you know, met expectations right. And you know we, we know about the injury in the back situation, uh, last year, where you know it happened, if I'm not mistaken, around training camp, and when he did return, he just never looked like the guy that we saw the year before right and he was, you know, deemed inactive a few times. But, you know, for the simple fact of anchoring this defense right and for the simple fact of what he's getting paid, the Jacksonville Jaguars need Devon Hamilton to step up and, you know, play more. So, like the guy that we saw year before last Because I can remember that again, I've referenced this game before but that Chargers game year before last, because I can remember that again I've referenced this game before but that Chargers game year before last Devon Hamilton like had a superb game in my opinion, and I enjoyed watching that game, in terms of just watching what he did in the trenches, and I left that game just so excited about the future for him and he had moments throughout the rest of that season too that made me excited. And when he signed the extension afterwards I was like, yeah, I could definitely see why they wanted to give him that deal and I could get behind it because he was a guy that I was high on. But the injury derailed him. We've seen the reports coming out of training camp that he looks way better, he said. He said himself that he's feeling way better, which is good he's looking more explosive. I think Travis Holmes shout-outs to him again. I think he has been kind of mentioning how Hamilton looks, significantly improved from the player we saw last year.
Speaker 1:But when we talk about that physicality aspect that this team lacked, that's where Devon Hamilton comes in and that's where his presence was missed last year. When you see a guy like Derrick Henry in his last game as a Tennessee Titan just running all through this defense, you know you're wondering like where are the anchors of this defense? I don't even know if Hamilton played that game, but he should have been on the field if he didn't. But you wonder when you see times like that, where you know pretty much Derrick Henry's having his way and just running through the trenches untouched, where are those anchors like Devon Hamilton and where is that toughness that we lacked in the trenches where the Tennessee Titans offensive line was just pretty much having their way with our front? So, while the opportunity to make an impact in the trenches might not be there statistically for him this year, because the makeup of the division is a little different right, we're not as much of a run-heavy division as we were the year before right, we had to look out for Damian Pierce, who regressed. We had to look out for Jonathan Stewart. We had to look out for Henry. Well, henry's gone right. As I said, jonathan Pierce or Damian Pierce regressed and the Texans proved to be a way better passing offense than a running offense, so that threat isn't what it used to be in terms of the run game and so that just leaves really just in this division. That just really leaves Stewart. So, statistically, the opportunities might not be there for him to like pop statistically and normally you know nose tackles and defensive tackles don't really pop statistically but he's one of those guys that when he's on the statistics may not match what you want them to match, but he makes everybody so much better around him and that's exactly what these guys, like Trayvon Walker and Josh Allen and you know Eric Armstead and all these people in the trenches. That's what they need in the interior of that defense is an anchor and somebody that can make life easier, and you know the linebackers behind him that can make life easier on them, and we're hoping that Devon Hamilton can get back to where he was during the 2022 season.
Speaker 1:And then, lastly, um, we'll talk Yassir Abdullah. I talk Yassir Abdullah. I have Yassir Abdullah, who, in that prediction, show that we did last year. I said he would get 10 sacks. I thought he was going to pull up what's the young man name? From the Lions Houston. That was a rookie that got like 10 sacks. I thought that's what we would get out of Yassir Abdullah and we did not get that at all. In fact he was barely active during the season.
Speaker 1:But the good news is again, going back to that coaching staff, it sounds like they have big plans for him and I think, from what I've been reading that you know they want him to play some Sam linebacker for the team. So they have a role carved out for him, which is good. But after just how inactive he was, the opportunity for a huge step for Yaseer Abdullah is certainly there, not just because of the role that you know they are planning for him, but when you you know you saw as little time on the field as he did. You know, know you have a guy that if he can, you know, play in five, six games, the opportunities will be there to take a way more significant step than he took last year. So I'll be watching Yassir, especially after the expectations I placed on him last year right expectations I placed on him last year, right? Um, I'll be watching Yosir in in hopes of him taking that next big step that he needs to take and just kind of watching how to utilize him as a Sam linebacker in this new scheme under Ryan Nielsen.
Speaker 1:And then, just to throw in a bonus, I'll go with Antonio Johnson, defensive player, who is a guy that we got what fifth, sixth round who honestly should have been going maybe third round at worst. So you know we kind of feel like we struck gold there and you know he did show promise. I think he had two interceptions last year and you know he just left us with a feeling, should I say, of optimism, just from the little bit of time he was on the field. He left us with a sense of optimism in terms of what he could bring to the table. So it'll be interesting to see, like, how he can help this team, especially with the nickel position being kind of crowded. You know we got, like people, some of these late round guys that we've drafted at the cornerback position. It seems like we draft like two cornerbacks in the late round of each draft. Uh, recently, uh, we got the kid out of old miss. That's escaping my my mind right now. And then we got my man, jarian jones. You know, maybe gregory jr could help you there.
Speaker 1:They recently got Darnell Savage in free agency, which was a head scratcher because people were like, um, you know, like how's that gonna work with Antonio Johnson? So it, you know, admittedly the position he plays may be a little bit crowded, but you know the flashes he did have with the limited opportunities that he saw. The field certainly should get him a lot of opportunities in not just training camp and OTAs but also in the preseason. And I just like the way he carries himself. When you look at the interviews he's had and you know he's a confident guy and you could tell that it was one interview I saw that he, you know he obviously felt like last year was a big time learning experience and something that he could build on. So he seems really excited about what the future holds for him. And competition will only make you better, right, all of those people I just mentioned will only drive him to become a better player. If he is that third round drafted, at least a third round, or a graded player that we thought he was, you know, you got a guy who should have went higher in the draft, and you add in some competition to get him to reach that potential and the results could be great. So I'll be watching him as well, in addition to the other three defenders that I mentioned. So we'll go ahead and wrap this episode up here.
Speaker 1:As you all know, I am James Johnson at sports grind underscore done. As you all know me on Twitter. My cohost will be joining me next week, phil Smith. You can follow him at Phil the Filipino on Twitter. You can follow our or find our website on the interweb at touchdown Jaguarscom. Follow the podcast handle at TDdjagwarspod. And then, lastly, as I mentioned, shout outs to our sponsor, seatgeek, who is your go-to place for your ticket and needs, whether that is in the sports world or concerts or other events. They got you covered. Use our code for first-time users. Use our promotion code that's touchdownjagwars. That will save you $20 on your first order with SeatGeek. Feel free to download that app as well, where you can use the code too. So I will go ahead and wrap this episode up and until next time, everybody be safe, take care of each other, and I am signing out.