The way the Jacksonville Jaguars ended last season, it wasn’t hard to understand why there were high expectations in Duval — for both the team and several individual players, alike.
The Jaguars ended the regular season with five straight wins and beat the Los Angeles Chargers in dramatic fashion in the playoffs. Going into the 2023 season, more of the same was expected.
The Jaguars have started the season with a 6-2 record, but despite the impressive record, they haven’t gotten what they were expecting from a few players.
Here are the Jaguars’ five biggest underachievers through the first half of 2023:
WR Calvin Ridley
Wide receiver Calvin Ridley hasn’t been bad. But he hasn’t quite been what many fans hoped for and expected before the season.
Ridley missed more than a year of football, so it’s not a shocker that he’s had a few off weeks. Ridley was previously a star receiving option for the Atlanta Falcons, so the Jaguars bought low, hoping he would return to the star he once was.
Ridley has shown flashes of being that player, but he has yet to show it consistently.
He has 33 catches for 451 yards and two touchdowns so far this season. However, he’s had some issues with drops, and he’s only had three games with more than 40 yards and four games with no more than three receptions.
If he can string together a few more weeks like his Week 1 game against the Indianapolis Colts and his Week 5 game against the Buffalo Bills, he could quickly shed the underachiever moniker.
OLB Travon Walker
As a former No. 1 overall pick, the Jaguars were hopeful edge rusher Travon Walker would be able to develop into a premium player off the edge. However, while he was viewed as a project, he isn’t where Jacksonville hoped he would be.
Last season, he ended the year with 3.5 sacks, so he’s already matched last year’s production. But he’s not even on pace for double-digit sacks this year. He’s also forced one fumble and achieved 22 total tackles this season.
There has been some improvement, but Jacksonville clearly isn’t content with the production.
The Jaguars were rumored to have had interest in edge rushers like Danielle Hunter of the Minnesota Vikings and Brian Burns of the Carolina Panthers. And if traded for, they surely wouldn’t have replaced the red-hot Josh Allen in the starting lineup.
If he doesn’t start to show clear improvement soon, Jacksonville may start getting impatient with Walker.
RB Tank Bigsby
Running back Tank Bigsby was never supposed to be the starter. But after impressing in training camp and the preseason, Jaguars fans thought he might serve as the perfect foil to starting rusher Travis Etienne Jr.
However, he’s found himself essentially out of the offense. He has only 54 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns; his last touchdown came in Week 2, and his last double-digit rushing yards game came in Week 3.
Because of Bigsby’s absence from the offense, Etienne has been heavily relied on. Etienne’s workload has been so hefty that head coach Doug Pederson said it was something the team needed to be conscious of.
A Bigsby resurgence would be welcomed, because Jacksonville doesn’t want to always have to turn to Etienne.
G Ben Bartch
Offensive lineman Ben Bartch had been a rotational piece for the Jaguars since he was drafted in 2020. He was taken in the fourth round so expectations weren’t sky high, but he had shown enough flashes that fans hoped he could be a long-term starter, especially after he won the left guard job last year.
Bartch is now off the active roster.
Jacksonville traded for Minnesota offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland — a sign that the current unit wasn’t at the level the team hoped for. And to make room for Cleveland, Bartch was cut from the team.
He was added back to the practice squad, but as of now, it seems Bartch won’t be a big part of the team, if he even gets back on the roster.
C Luke Fortner
The Jaguars selected Luke Fortner in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Fortner’s rookie campaign wasn’t spectacular, but he showed more than enough to provide hope that he would see a sophomore bump.
Simply put, there’s been no improvement. His Pro Football Focus grade a year ago was a 49.6; his current grade is a 49.8.
Fortner currently has a hold of the starting center position, but if his play doesn’t improve, the Jaguars might not have time to wait on his development. As a contending team, Jacksonville needs every position to be as good as possible.
The Jaguars might not have an immediate answer at center, but don’t be surprised if the team starts evaluating its options if Fortner continues to be a liability.
