Ramsey Black Dawuane Smoot Jerseys , Telvin Smith and Yannick Ngakoue. Ramsey is training on his own and looking for a new deal,..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Jaguars Free Agency 2016Jaguars Film RoomNFL DraftJaguars Injury NewsLatest NewsCan the Jaguars afford Yannick Ngakoue?New,77commentsEDTShareTweetShareShareCan the Jaguars afford Yannick Ngakoue?Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY SportsThe Jacksonville Jaguars have a few players absent from voluntary workouts in the former of Jalen Ramsey, Telvin Smith and Yannick Ngakoue. Ramsey is training on his own and looking for a new deal, the former is something he’s always done anyway. Smith is currently AWOL and Ngakoue has skipped out after showing up for the first week of workouts, presumably in a good faith showing while trying to get a new contract.One question I’ve seen a lot is if the Jaguars can actually afford to pay Yannick Ngakoue at market value and if it will prevent the team from signing Jalen Ramsey long term. The short answer is yes they can and no it won’t. Getting into the numbers, if the Jaguars want to keep Ngakoue it will not be cheap. If you look at some of the contracts at the position recently you can see that, especially for some players I personally think Ngakoue is just as good or better than. Trey Flowers signed a 5-year, $90 million deal with $40 million guaranteed. DeMarcus Lawrence signed a 5-year, $105 million deal with $48 guaranteed and Frank Clark signed a 5-year, $104 million deal with $43.8 guaranteed. The sack totals for those players rank as follows; Flowers 21 sacks in 46 games, Lawrence has 34 sacks in 64 games, Clark has 35 sacks in 62 games and Ngakoue has 29.5 sacks in 48 games.As you can see Dawuane Smoot Jerseys 2019 , Ngakoue is one or above their level in a raw numbers perspective and I’d bet his quarterback hurries and hits are as much or more than them as well.My guess would be that the hope is that the Jaguars are able to lock up Ngakoue on a deal more similar to that of Trey Flowers instead of a deal eclipsing $100 million. Currently the Jaguars have $13.5 million in cap space, but they can free up more space if they feel it necessary by restructuring or they can simply play financial gymnastics and do something like a large signing bonus with a small 2019 salary to mitigate the cap hit. I expect the Jaguars to get a deal done with Ngakoue before the season and that’s likely how they’ll do it.The real question many fans have however is; can the Jaguars still afford Jalen Ramsey if they re-sign Ngakoue?Yes.For the 2020 season the Jaguars can do things they’re likely going to be doing anyway, such as cutting Marcell Dareus to save $20 million in cap space. Jake Ryan has kind of a dummy year in his contract for 2020 where it’s a straight $6 million in savings. You’ll also likely release DJ Hayden to save $6 million, etc. The Jaguars have continuously set themselves up to move on from contracts when they need to in a way to be able to re-sign their own players, since they finally have players worth re-signing. You also have to remember the team has picked up Jalen Ramsey’s fifth-year option and will still have the franchise tag as an option, so it’s not something really worth worrying about at this point. Just remember: The salary cap is fake. For the premise of this thought process we are going to operate under the assumption that the Jacksonville Jaguars are signing Nick Foles in free agency to a five-year contract. We’re assuming that..."For the premise of this thought process we are going to operate under the assumption that the Jacksonville Jaguars are signing Nick Foles in free agency to a five-year contract. We’re assuming that for the foreseeable future the Jaguars plan at quarterback is Nick Foles and they’re not going to spend any draft capital in 2019 on the quarterback position.With that being said, how will the Foles signing impact the Jaguars plans in the 2019 NFL Draft?You have to commit to FolesThe first point is going to be that if you’re going to sign Foles, you will need to give him the best chance to be successful on the offensive side of the ball. The Jaguars offense as it stands right now is a big step down from what Foles was working with on the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are better than the Jaguars are virtually every position across the board, especially skill positions. This has led a lot to think the Jaguars should spend the No. 7 overall pick on a wide receiver, but to be frank, there are not any Top 15 type wide receivers in this draft. That includes work out warrior D.K. Metcalf.The Jaguars can do the next best thing however and pick up a potential elite level tight end. I’ll honest and admit that spending the No. 7 overall pick on a tight end is awful value, but if quarterback is out of the equation and the Jaguars need to spend draft capital to help Foles, the best course of action is going to be a high end tight end or an offensive lineman Black Cam Robinson Jerseys , and we all know how I feel about drafting guards and right tackles in the Top 10.A rookie tight end for the Jaguars is going to be the best possible scenario to get a big impact from a rookie on the offensive side of the ball. The Jaguars recently declined the option on Austin Seferian-Jenkins and the rest of their tight end room are just a bunch of guys. Snapping up someone like T.J. Hockenson or Noah Fant with the seventh overall pick would give the Jaguars not only an instant starter, but a tight end who can play in a multitude of formations. While Hockenson is the better blocker and Fant is the better receiver, both come from a college team that runs a lot of pro-sets and NFL concepts. Both have a ton of snaps playing in-line, split wide and even as a type of H-back out of the backfield. They should slide right in with little hiccup. John DeFilippo makes use of tight endsJaguars new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo has had a lot of production from the tight end position everywhere he’s had a hand in calling plays. His one season with the Cleveland Browns in 2015 saw Gary Barnidge haul in 79 receptions for over 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns. He never came anywhere close to that any other season.Zach Ertz had already broken out by the time DeFilippo was hired as the quarterbacks coach for the Eagles, but with DeFilippo taking on designing plays for the redzone, Ertz did see his touchdown production increase. In his two years with DeFilippo Ertz caught 12 redzone touchdowns. When DeFilippo moved to the Minnesota Vikings he already had a ready-made tight end in Kyle Rudolph and he continued his production, including three touchdowns in the redzone.I think the Jaguars can get by with the receivers they have on the roster and they’re going to want to give 2018 second-round pick DJ Chark as many snaps as he can prove himself, so a rookie receiver isn’t likely to get a ton of playing time. The tight end position however, is a nightmare and adding one of the Iowa tight ends gives you an instant starter and a high chance for an instant impact.Rounds 2 and 3 are also likely to be offensive playersTo continue giving Foles the best chance, the Jaguars need to come back in rounds two and three and pick up an offensive lineman and at least one running back. You can argue that you can find a tight end in these rounds as well, but the drop off from Hockenson, Fant and Alabama’s Irv Smith is pretty big and it’s possible all three will be gone by your second round pick. On the flip side Cam Robinson Jerseys 2019 , rounds two and three in this draft should be prime spots to pick up an offensive lineman who can start on the right side at guard or tackle and the third round is where you can pluck from the glut of mid-round running backs.We saw last season the Jaguars get hammered by going light at the running back position and flailing to solve it mid-season. I’d expect the team to pick at least one in the mid-rounds this draft as not only an insurance policy, but real depth. There’s an argument to pick an offensive lineman in the first round and get a tight end in these rounds, but as I mentioned if I’m looking for a big impact early I’m going with my starting tight end over a right guard/tackle. I know all about Lane Johnson and Quinton Nelson, but I just can’t bring myself to argue for taking a right sided offensive lineman in the Top 10 of a draft.I have a hard time seeing a quarterbackI know some of you are probably screaming “PICK A QUARTERBACK TOO!” if someone like Dwayne Haskins falls to the seventh overall pick, or someone like Will Grier or Tyree Jackson in the third round, but I just have a hard time seeing it. I’m fully prepared to sign Foles in free agency and watch the Jaguars make a selection, passing on Haskins if he’s on the board, with the seventh overall pick.As I said, if you’re signing Nick Foles in free agency as a “win now” type of move, you have got to equip him with the pieces to actually win now. Drafting a backup quarterback with the seventh overall pick or even a developmental one in the first four rounds isn’t how you do that. You can get actual contributors in those rounds who will contribute more than that quarterback will, which is hopefully none at all.Picking a quarterback after the fourth round as well is more often than not throwing a pick away, so look for your special teamers and developmental lineman/skill position players there.Defensive player is temptingThis draft is loaded with defensive lineman and there will be a glut of them available at No. 7 overall and it will be tempting to draft one. Adding another pass rusher is always helpful for an offense because it helps them get the ball back faster. I could totally see if certain lineman fall to the seventh overall pick the Jaguars snapping them up, but I still believe the best course of action is to try to give Foles weapons to work with more so than adding more to the defense.Trading down is hardWhile there are some who will scream to pick a quarterback too Black Leonard Fournette Jerseys , there’s going to be just as many going on and on about trading down. The chances that happen however are extremely thin. To put it simply, historically David Caldwell has avoided potential trade downs and outright declined some to get his guy. Their trend is to fall in love with a player and pick them with their pick in lieu of trading down.To pair with that, it’s highly unlikely there will be a player teams will be willing to trade up to No. 7 overall for. The two teams picking right after the Jaguars aren’t going to pick a quarterback, so even if Haskins or Kyler Murray fall to No. 7 overall, there is no pressure for a team to trade up for them. They can wait a pick or two and give up less capital to do so. Outside of quarterback, the depth of the defensive line class likely means teams won’t be moving up for any of those players, either. Long story short; If you’re signing Nick Foles in free agency, you’re going to have to spend draft capital to help him out. Pick one of the impact tight ends early to be your starter, then fill out the offensive line and running back position.