JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Everything was in place for the Jacksonville Jaguars' offense to take off in 2024.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence and receiver Christian Kirk were healthy. Running back Tank Bigsby, receiver Parker Washington and tight end Brenton Strange were improved in training camp after disappointing rookie seasons.
And the Jaguars upgraded at center, replacing the struggling Luke Fortner with veteran free agent Mitch Morse.
Except the offense didn't take off. Not only did it fail to make any strides, it went backward.
The unit put up similar numbers to the 2021 offense -- Lawrence's rookie season with dysfunctional head coach Urban Meyer -- because of injuries, predictability in playcalling and a decline in the run game.
The offense ranked 27th in offensive points per game (17.9), 25th in yards per game (306.2), 26th in rushing yards per game (101.7), 24th in passing yards per game (204.5), and 22nd in third down conversions (37.3%).
Then the Jaguars made sweeping changes this offseason. Liam Coen was hired to replace Doug Pederson as coach and they moved on from general manager Trent Baalke midway through coaching interviews.
Khan wanted a young, offensive-minded head coach to inject some innovation into the offense and turn Lawrence into the player many expected he'd become when he was drafted first overall in 2021.
"I think what was the fundamental thing that we need to address, and the No. 1 thing, obviously, is the quarterback position," Khan said at Coen's introductory news conference. "Our commitment to Trevor [is] well known and [we] believe in him. That was the fundamental question, really, to all the candidates. How would they do it?
"After we got done with that, it was very evident to me that Liam was the guy."
Here's a look at the current state of the offense before free agency opens March 12 and what Coen faces in 2025:
Quarterback
Players under contract for 2025: Trevor Lawrence, John Wolford
Backup quarterbacks Mac Jones and C.J. Beathard are scheduled to become free agents. Jones would like a chance to compete for a starting spot so he's unlikely to return unless he gets zero interest from other teams. There was concern about 31-year-old Beathard's ability to stay heathy, which is why they traded for Jones last offseason.
This is a critical season for Lawrence, who is on his third head coach and fifth playcaller since he was drafted first overall in 2021. He has yet to play well for a full season and must get better at situational football. He has to prove he can stay healthy after dealing with ankle, knee, shoulder (twice), and concussion (twice) injuries that cost him eight games over the past two seasons.
The skinny: A name to watch here as a potential backup addition is Kyle Trask, who backed up Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay and is familiar with Coen's offense. Don't rule out using a later-round pick on a QB, either.
Running back
Players under contract for 2025: Travis Etienne Jr., Tank Bigsby, Keilan Robinson
Unless he signs an extension, Etienne will be playing on his fifth-year option. He ran for 588 yards, two TDs and averaged a career-low 3.7 yards per carry in 2024 after posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. He had 117 fewer carries than he did in 2023, thanks to the emergence of Bigsby (766 yards, seven touchdowns, 4.6 yards per carry).
Robinson played in six games and didn't have a carry last season, so he'll likely have to compete with a potential low-level free-agent signing or draft pick to be the No. 3 back.
Coen took Tampa's run game from last in the league in 2023 to fourth in 2024. The Jaguars were 26th last season and need Bigsby to continue to develop and Etienne to play at the level he did in 2022 and 2023 for the Jaguars to make a jump into a top 10 rushing attack.
The skinny: Etienne and Bigsby should share the workload in 2025 and Bigsby is set to take over as the lead back in 2026, but things can change quickly at this spot. The Bucs were set with Rachaad White as their starter last year until rookie Bucky Irving eventually took over as the top back. Running back is a position to watch in the mid-to-late rounds of the draft.
Tight end
Players under contract for 2025: Evan Engram, Brenton Strange, Shawn Bowman, Patrick Murtagh
Luke Farrell, a fifth-round pick in 2021, is scheduled to become a free agent. He has 36 catches in 66 career games and has been used mainly as a blocker.
Engram, who caught 114 passes in 2023, missed eight games with hamstring and shoulder injuries and averaged a career-low 7.8 yards per catch. He's entering the final year of his contract and has a the second-highest cap figure ($19.75 million) and base salary ($14.75 million) on the roster, which makes him a candidate for release if the Jaguars want to shed salary and create additional cap space. Strange (45 catches in two seasons) would take over as the main pass-catcher if Engram is released.
The skinny: This is a position the Jaguars need to make a priority eventually, but bringing Engram back for another season allows them another year before it reaches that point. Strange, who has proven to be a good blocker, has two more years remaining on his rookie deal.
Wide receiver
Players under contract for 2025: Brian Thomas Jr., Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, Parker Washington, Devin Duvernay, Josh Reynolds, Austin Trammell, David White Jr., Joshua Cephus, Louis Rees-Zammit
Thomas (1,282 yards, 10 TDs) put up one of the best seasons by a rookie receiver in NFL history, becoming the fourth rookie to have 1,100 yards and 10 TDs receiving (Ja'Marr Chase, Randy Moss, Odell Beckham Jr.). He finished third in the NFL in receiving behind Chase and Justin Jefferson despite not being the focal point of the offense until Week 13.
Kirk is entering the final season of his contract and has the highest cap hit ($24.38 million) and base salary ($15.5) on the roster, which also makes him a candidate for release if the Jaguars want to create cap space. What puts him at risk is the fact that he has missed 13 games over the past two seasons with groin and collarbone injuries.
Washington stepped into Kirk's role as the primary slot receiver after Kirk's injury last season and caught 32 passes for 393 yards but he would need to improve significantly to match Kirk's production when he was healthy (168 catches, 13.5 yards per catch, 12 TDs in 37 games with the Jaguars).
The skinny: If the Jaguars hold onto Kirk, whether it's under his current deal or a restructure, the Jaguars are set at two receiver spots. No. 3? That's a player that may not be on the roster.
Davis, who signed a three-year, $39 million contract last offseason, was a disappointment in 2024: He caught 20 passes in 10 games and finished the season on IR because of a knee injury. He has a $20.3 million dead cap hit so the Jaguars are unlikely to move on this season. The Jaguars could look to take another receiver in the top half of the draft.
Offensive line
Players under contract for 2025: LT Walker Little, LG Ezra Cleveland, C Mitch Morse, RT Anton Harrison, C Luke Fortner, OT Javon Foster, G Cooper Hodges, G Dennis Daley, G Dieter Eiselen
Four starters (Little, Cleveland, Morse and Harrison) return, but the Jaguars must find a replacement for RG Brandon Scherff, whose contract expires.
The Jaguars ranked 19th in pass block win rate (58.6%) and 25th in run block win rate (70.2%) last season and that's with the upgrade of Morse over Fortner at center. The unit has to play much better, especially in the run game.
The skinny: Hodges was supposed to be the eventual replacement for Scherff but he's coming off back-to-back severe knee injuries, so that's a position the Jaguars have to address this offseason -- whether with a free agent signing or a draft pick.
Little, who has dealt with multiple nagging injuries throughout his career, signed three-year, $40.5 million in December. Cleveland and Harrison have two more years remaining on their deals (the fifth-year option is on the table for Harrison).
However, the 33-year-old Morse and Fortner are entering the final years of their contracts, so center has to be a priority for the Jaguars as well, likely in the middle rounds of the draft.
Specialists
Players under contract for 2025: Logan Cooke (P), Ross Matiscik (LS), Cam Little (K)
Cooke and Matiscik were Pro Bowlers in 2024 (second year in a row for Matiscik) and second-team All-Pros last season.
Little was the Jaguars' second-best rookie in 2024: He converted 27-of-29 field goal attempts (including a franchise record-tying 59 yarder) and set a single-season franchise record (minimum 25 attempts) in field goal percentage (93.1%).
The skinny: This is by far the Jaguars' best and most consistent position group. Cooke, whose 43.5 net yards per punt average is the best in the NFL since 2000, is entering the final year of his contract, so that's something to monitor as the season progresses.