After Hutch had a good combine many think Jax will take him 1OA. So I decided to take a deeper look at it.
Some think Jax should take an OT to protect Lawrence. I tend to agree. Their starting LT Cam Jordan is about to hit FA. If Jacksonville wants to retain him they will likely have to apply the tag.
The thought process is that he’s coming off a good year His best year statistically. Where he only gave up one sack all season.
But …. What people don’t know is that he allowed the 11th most QB hits out of all 32 starting OT’s…. Yikes!
He’s been very inconsistent his entire career as well. So do you invest franchise tag money into an inconsistent player? It’s hard to pay franchise money for an average at best LT.
But let’s look past him for a second.
Jax starting RT J. Taylor has been a huge disappointment for a former 2nd round pick. Jax has Little another 2nd round pick from the 2020 draft waiting in the wings. Who actually has played better in spot duty than Taylor.
Andrew Norwall their highest rated OL player who plays OG is also a free agent. They can’t tag both Robinson and Norwall. Some believe it makes more sense to keep Norwall and let Robinson test free agency.
Jacksonville has been spending day two and day 3 picks on OL the last few years and it hasn’t been paying off. They really need better play along the entire OL. Their OL isn’t terrible but it’s not great either. And this offseason it could get worse is they lose Norwall. In fact most of their starting OL could be lost. Linder their starting C is injured a lot and could be a cap casualty as he’s expected to make 9.5 mil this year. Both their starting OG’s are free agents and so is their LT.
Meanwhile they have been spending day one picks on Edge players. They have J. Allen, K. Chaisson at OLB/edge …. both first round selections. I’m not sure adding Hutch is the smartest move for them. But he’s clearly the best player in the draft.
Personally I think Lawrence’s ability to move in the pocket made that OL look better than it was. I think it’s time they invest a first round pick on an OL and I think the depth of pass rushers allows them to add one on day two if they feel the need.
If they stay pat at 1OA I think they take an OT but I think it’s possible a team may want to leap frog the Lions. So they may find a trade partner if their asking price isn’t too steep.
Free agency will tell us a lot but I suspect they target IOL in free agency and look towards the draft for a LT.
Bottom line is they will likely be over hauling that entire OL this offseason. So why not start with the first pick.