Why the Jaguars need cornerbacks

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars are a few pieces away from being true Super Bowl contenders, and with the free-agent signings from AFC South divisional opponents, the Jags are in dire need of cornerbacks.

Heading into the offseason, the Houston Texans already had a one-thousand-yard receiver in Nico Collins, rookie standout Tank Dell, trusty tight end Dalton Schultz, and now have traded for former Buffalo Bills star Stefon Diggs.

The Tennessee Titans already had star DeAndre Hopkins and then went on to steal Calvin Ridley from the big cats.

And in Indy, the Colts have Michael Pittman Jr., who was third in receptions in the entire league last season.

So, with all the additions, there are now five receivers in the AFC South that rank inside the top-12 in receiving yards and touchdowns in the conference last season.

"You're going to pay close attention to your division and see what's going on. We saw last year in the division, there were three brand-new quarterbacks that were taken in the division. You pay close attention to that and some of the free agent moves, even that were made in this offseason. They're looking at us the same way. We have to construct the best roster for us," said Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson.

Now looking at the Jaguars roster, there is only one cornerback who started at least 10 games last season, that being Tyson Campbell, which can be an issue in the experience department.

But Jacksonville general manager Trent Baalke likes this year's cornerback class and believes there are several options in the NFL draft.

"I think there's really good depth and really good skill at the corner position in this draft more so than maybe the last couple of drafts that I've been involved with here. So, it'll be interesting to see how these top guys fall off the board," said Baalke.

There is only one cornerback on the roster with a contract past two seasons, and that player, Christian Braswell, has only appeared in 3 total games ever.

So, the big cats are in dire need of some quality and long-term cornerbacks, even if it doesn't come through the draft.

However, if they don't take care of that position, other teams will have a field day in the passing game.