Two players the Jaguars should sign in free agency

The 2025 Jaguars saw a lot of improvements in key areas, such as wide receiver, linebacker, and offensive line. This helped them have an instant turnaround from 4 wins to 13, but there are still some holes that need to be addressed in order to become a true contender. Here are 3 players the Jaguars should sign in free agency to take the next step.

John Franklin-Meyers

The Jaguars defense improved dramatically from the previous season, ranking in the top 8 in points allowed, but one area that did not see a big improvement was the pass rush. The Jaguars were one of the worst teams in the NFL at getting the quarterback on the ground, recording just 32 sacks on the year, good for 4th worst in the league. When it came to causing problems for the quarterback, they were better but still needed work, ranking 18th in pressure rate and 19th in no blitz pressure rate according to Sharpfootballanalysis.com.

A big reason for the Jaguars lack of pass rush was specifically due to the interior defensive line providing little help, ranking as the worst unit in the NFL over the final 5 weeks. John Franklin-Meyers has been one of the best interior defensive linemen over the last two seasons, combining for 14.5 sacks, 33 quarterback hits, and 14 tackles for loss. This level of production would immediately improve the Jaguars pass rush along the interior, as well as providing much more help for Travon Walker and Josh Hines-Allen on the edges.

James Pierre

Cornerback was a position of need throughout the season in Jacksonville due to injury, and Pierre will help balance things out. Jarrian Jones and Jourdan Lewis have established themselves as the primary nickel cornerbacks. The questions in the secondary lie outside the numbers. Montaric Brown and Greg Newsome II are free agents, and Travis Hunter is coming off an injury and will not be a full-time defensive back. This is where the Jaguars need Pierre.

With the cap space the Jaguars will have, they will not want to pay big money to a superstar player, but Pierre could be an affordable game changer. If Montaric Brown is to be re-signed, Pierre would be the perfect low risk, high reward signing. In 2025, Pierre played a career-high 38% of defensive snaps, allowing a 41.4 passer rating and a 50% completion percentage when targeted. With Travis Hunter playing both sides of the ball, Pierre would be able to play some of Hunter's snaps while still maintaining similar production.

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