Jaguars position review after minicamp: Heavy competition on the offensive line
admin_news
With offseason programs now behind us, let's take a position-by-position look at where things stand for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Next up is the offensive line unit.
If you missed our other positional reviews, you can find them below.
A lot of new faces up front
Since Liam Coen took over as the Jaguars' head coach, he's been direct in saying that the performance from the offensive line unit has to improve.
To help accomplish this, GM James Gladstone reshaped this unit during the offseason. This included making four free agent signings in Patrick Mekari, Robert Hainsey, Chuma Edoga, and Fred Johnson, along with selecting Wyatt Milum and Jonah Monheim in the NFL draft.
These new additions have added a lot of versatility to the Jaguars' offensive line unit and a lot of competition.
"We do have a lot of guys can play multiple spots," offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett said. "I've got guys that have played center. I've got guys who have played tackle, guard and center. It makes us better. I always hear this old saying: 'The more you can do, the longer you're going to be around.' There are multiple guys who can play multiple positions on this offensive line."
Competition, competition, competition
The Jaguars' coaching staff may have penciled in who they think their starting five will consist of and where those players will be lining up, but I don't think that anything has been written in pen at this time. Just about everything seems to be up for grabs this summer.
While we don't know what the exact configurations were during offseason programs, it's been reported that the Jaguars have done a lot of mixing and matching as they search for their best starting five combination.
As offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett said recently, the goal has been to "breed competition" along the offensive line unit throughout the offseason.
"That was the thing we saw and we wanted in the spring," Sarrett said via Jaguars.com. "It's going to really pop its head when you come into training camp. There are guys who running with the ones right now, and there's guys that are running with the twos. But they have to hold on to their spots. We'll keep them working at it each day and hopefully we have the best five starting when it all flattens out."
Consistent success for the Jaguars' offense starts with the offensive line
As expected, all eyes often go to the quarterback and the skill position players, but consistent success for any offense begins in the trenches.
The offensive line providing a steady running game to lean on helps keep the offense ahead of the sticks and out of predictable passing situations. In addition to that, we all know how important it is that the quarterback has time in the pocket to go through his reads and have a clean pocket to throw from.
On the flip side, playing from behind the sticks puts the offense at a very disadvantageous situation, while pressure on the quarterback leads to mistakes.
If the Jaguars can get improved play up front, everything else has a much greater chance of falling into place.
"We'll keep them working at it each day and hopefully we get the best five starting when it all flattens out," Sarrett said.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Previewing Jaguars roster: Heavy competition on the offensive line
