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NFL: Did The Jacksonville Jaguars Have The Best Offseason? Which Other Teams Improved Significantly?

By Daniel Benjamin
Published on: 15:25 PST, May 15, 2016

With the NFL offseason essentially over it is time to take a look at which teams improved themselves the most. There are several candidates for this honor, including the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, Chicago Bears, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Cleveland Browns.

Through the first 10 weeks, the Jaguars were one of the biggest surprises of the 2015 season, as they were 4-6 and had thoughts about winning a division title for the first time since 1999. Jacksonville eventually fall out of contention, going 1-5 down the stretch to finish third in the AFC South with a 5-11 record. The five win total was the franchise’s most victories since the 2010 season, when they won eight contests.

Even better news for Jacksonville was that quarterback Blake Bortles made huge strides in year two as did several other youngsters – such as WR Allen Robinson, WR Allen Hurns and LB Telvin Smith. The Jaguars went into the offseason with several holes to fill, particularly on the defensive side – Jacksonville gave up the most points in the NFL last season — and the most cap space of the NFL’s 32 teams.

The Jags went to work immediately, landing free agent defensive tackle Malik Jackson from the Denver Broncos as well as free safety Tashuan Gipson (Cleveland Browns), cornerback Prince Amukamara (New York Giants), left tackle Kelvin Beachum (Pittsburgh Steelers), and running back Chris Ivory (New York Jets). Ivory led the AFC in rushing last year with 1,070 yards – Jacksonville finished 27th in the league with 92.1 yards a game.

Jacksonville then added defensive back Jalen Ramsey with the No. 5 overall pick and linebacker Myles Jack in the second round, both of whom are expected to start from Day 1. The Jags, who received an A+ grade from draft guru Mel Kiper of ESPN, used six of their seven selections on the defensive side with quarterback Brandon Allen being the team’s sixth round choice. Allen may end up backing up Bortles this season.

Oakland, like Jacksonville, were a big surprise last season as the Raiders won three-of-their-last six games to finish at 7-9 – their best record since 2011. Also, like the Jaguars, the Raiders saw quarterback Derek Carr make great strides in year two and they struggled on the defense side of the football and in the running game.

Oakland went into the offseason with the second most cap space available. The Raiders spent heavily on the defensive side, bringing in linebacker Bruce Irvin (Seattle) and a pair of defensive backs in Sean Smith (Kansas City) and Reggie Nelson (Cincinnati). Oakland then drafted safety Karl Joseph in the first round and added defensive ends Jihad Ward and Shilique Calhoun in round two and three. On the offensive side, free agent offensive linemen Kelechi Osmele (Baltimore) was brought in to solidify the line and fourth-round draft choice Connor Cook is expected to be Carr’s backup for years to come.

The Giants have missed the playoffs four straight season and six of the last seven years. New York also had trouble on defense, surrendering a league high 420 yards a game and was 30th in scoring defense (27.6 points a game). New York re-signed Jason Pierre-Paul and then added former Miami Dolphin defensive end Olivier Vernon and New York Jet defensive tackle Damon Harrison to help solidify the d-line. The G-men also added free agent cornerback Janoris Jenkins though the Centrio Times is reporting they are still looking to add more help.

While some people have dissed the Giants’ draft, Kiper gave them a B+. New York selected Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple with the No. 10 overall pick and then grabbed talented wide receiver Sterling Shephard in the second round. Apple, Shepard along with safety Darian Thompson, running back Paul Perkins and tight end Jerrell Adams made the NFL’s list of Top-100 rookies for the 2016 season.

Chicago, like the previous three teams discussed, needed help on the defensive side. During free agency, the Bears upgraded their interior linebacking unit by signing Jerrell Freeman (Indianapolis) and Danny Trevatham and then inked defensive end Akiem Hicks (New Orleans) and safety Omar Bolden. The Bears did save money to improve their offensive line, which was much needed.

Chicago selected nine players in this year’s draft with six picks being used on defensive players. The Bears moved up a few slots to No. 9 to grab Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd and then took defensive end Johnathan Bullard, inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkowski, safety Deon Bush, and cornerback Deiondre Hall with four of their next five selections.

Bleacher Report and USA Today believe that the Jaguars had the best offseason, but the rest of their lists greatly differ.

Who do you think had the best offseason? Let us know with your comments.

[Photo by Eric Christian Smith/ Associated Press]

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