Jaguars pass rusher Josh Allen said recently that his younger teammates could talk to him about the adversity he’s experienced during three seasons on a losing team in Jacksonville, but the greater hope around the team is that the team can avoid rough sailing in the future.
The Jaguars picked Travon Walker first overall and then added linebacker Devin Lloyd later in the first half. Linebacker Chad Muma was a third-round pick and the team also signed linebacker Foye Oluokun, defensive end Arden Key, and defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi in free agency.
On Monday, head coach Doug Pederson said that the team’s hope is that the new faces wind up giving Allen more freedom to make plays than he had last season.
“He’s an excitable player,” Pederson said, via the team’s website. “He’s someone who can make a lot of plays on defense. I think with some of the new additions he’ll be able to get back to that. If the success is there [for the offseason additions], and we hope it is — as teams scheme us on defense — it maybe frees Josh up to be more of what he was a couple of years ago. I think having those pieces around him could do that.”
The Jaguars were similarly aggressive when it came to picking up offensive pieces to support quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a change in fortunes could be in order if all of the new pieces prove to be solid fits with their new team.
