New Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson says he will call offensive plays next season and has warned against over-optimistic expectations by declaring the Jaguars are "not an overnight fix".
The AFC South team are in possession of the No.1 selection in the draft for the second season running and could nab University of Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal, who is currently 8/5 to hear his name called first.
Pederson has Super Bowl pedigree
Pederson led the Philadelphia Eagles to a 13-3 mark in his second year as coach here and on to postseason glory with victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Related NFL News
NFL: What we learned from Super Bowl LVI
NFL: Rams 'not buying' Donald retirement talk
NFL: McVay downplays talk of TV move
NFL: Taylor declares Donald's a cut above
But this job looks like being a longer rebuild as he takes over a franchise that has won just four games in the past two seasons and lacks the kind of veteran leadership needed to make a playoff run.
Pederson realistic on Jacksonville challenge
"It's not an overnight fix," Pederson said on Friday when he introduced his offensive and defensive co-ordinators to the media. "It's going to be a fix that we've got to do one player at a time, one coach at a time, and get it turned around."
Much of the focus will be on developing their top 2021 pick Trevor Lawrence, who struggled in his first season as a pro quarterback and now has to learn another offensive system.
The Jaguars have talent elsewhere - particularly at running back where both Travis Etienne, who sustained a season-ending Lisfranc injury in a preseason game, and their best offensive player from 2021 - James Robinson - will play leading roles .
"We're going to add talent," Pederson added, via nfl.com. "We're going to add competition. We're going to bring value to the roster. Every team does that. We're no exception to that. But I see talent here."
Discover more from the world's favourite online betting brand
Win more with our US sports parlay bonus
