JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The 2015 season is almost upon us. Training camps begin soon, the Hall of Fame game is Aug. 9, the preseason begins Aug. 13, and the first regular-season game is Sept. 10.
To get you ready for the Jacksonville Jaguars' season, I'll have a list of 15 things to know, ponder and file away. The series will continue each weekday until training camp begins July 31
Call it 15 for '15.
Today: Linebacker depth
The Jaguars made it a priority to address the secondary and defensive line in free agency and the draft, but the one area of the defense on which they couldn't do much work was linebacker.
The Jaguars did sign Dan Skuta to be their starting otto (strongside linebacker that rushes and drops in coverage), but they were unable to address the position in the draft. Instead, the Jaguars are relying on several undrafted free agents to help provide depth at a critical position.
Skuta, Paul Posluszny and Telvin Smith are the undisputed starters and the Jaguars feel pretty good about those three. Skuta's versatility makes him a good fit for the otto. He played outside and inside linebacker in his first six seasons with Cincinnati and San Francisco. He has started 18 games in the last two seasons there at outside linebacker in the 49ers' 3-4 defense in place of Aldon Smith during his rehab and suspension.
Posluszny has been a tackling machine during his four seasons with the Jaguars -- he's already fifth on the franchise's all-time tackles list (653) – and he is the unquestioned leader of the defense. Smith, who is in his second season, has shown flashes that he could become a big-time playmaker despite being undersized (218 pounds).
After those three, however, the Jaguars' most experienced linebacker is … LaRoy Reynolds. He has played in 28 games (three starts) in the last two seasons and has just 22 tackles and one pass breakup. The Jaguars tried him at otto last season but he's mainly a special teams player.
The other linebackers on the roster are second-year players Khairi Fortt and Jeremiah George, third-year player John Lotulelei, and undrafted rookies Thurston Armbrister, Todd Thomas and Matt Robinson. Those six players have 16 combined tackles, including six on special teams.
That lack of experience could hurt the Jaguars should any of the starters get hurt and have to miss a significant amount of time. It happened last season when Posluszny suffered a torn pectoral muscle and missed nine games. The Jaguars were able to slide J.T. Thomas, a fourth-year player, into the middle and he performed solidly under the circumstances. However, he had more experience than Fortt, George and Lotulelei, who missed the 2014 season with a hamstring injury.
Jaguars GM David Caldwell said he didn't address the position in the draft because there were only a few players in which he was interested and they were gone by the time he was willing to look at the position. He and coach Gus Bradley have said they're comfortable with the players on the roster and like the chances of the three undrafted rookies.
Still, expect the Jaguars to mine the waiver wires, especially when final cuts are made, and possibly add one or two experienced linebackers.
