Jacksonville Jaguars: Dave Caldwell believes patience is paying off

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jacksonville Jaguars fans can probably adopt the two facts about the upcoming 2016 season:

--The offense is what it is as it is.

--The defense will not be what it is as it is.

When general manager Dave Caldwell was hired by team owner Shad Khan three years ago, the roster was in shambles. Caldwell's first move was to hire Gus Bradley to try and stop the free-fall. There were holes to be filled on both sides of the ball and there were few quality players that could be counted on to turn the fortunes of a team that was coming off a 2-14 season. Bottom line, things were in shambles.

The team's three new leaders put a plan together and asked fans for patience. They went to work, first on the offense that ranked at or near the bottom of nearly all the key offensive categories in the league. In 2014, the Jaguars had six rookies start eight or more games on offense and they won three games after winning four in 2013.

"The fact that we won four games (in 2013) was a little bit of a minor miracle," Caldwell said. "From a talent standpoint, I take the blame (for) those first two years because we weren't ready to compete and we knew that we weren't going to be ready because the plan was we're going to look to Year 3 to invest in free agency (and) give our young guys that we drafted a chance to develop. Not that it couldn't have happened sooner, but it was going to be very difficult."

The Jaguars improved to 5-11 in 2015 and were in the hunt for the AFC South title into December in 2014, but that's partly due to it being one of the worst divisions in the league. That left Bradley with a less-than-impressive 12-36 record for his first three seasons, normally a sure ticket out of the league. But Khan instead gave Bradley a one-year extension on his contract through the 2017 season. Khan did make it clear however, that a winning record in 2016 is "everybody's reasonable expectation at this point."

Caldwell is hopeful that his work in putting together a much-improved offensive unit over the last couple of years will begin to pay dividends.

"We knew we couldn't build both sides of the ball at the same time," Caldwell said this week at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis where he and Bradley have looked at and talked to a number of players. "With the influx of good offensive players the last couple of years, we've concentrated on that side of the ball and have built the offense with guys like (quarterback) Blake Bortles, our two Allens (Robinson and Hurns) at the wide receivers, T.J. Yeldon at running back and a good, young offensive line. Add in a guy like (tight end) Julius Thomas that we were able to sign last year and we feel good about the offense.

"Free agency you might be able to find a quick fix, but we've got eight draft picks and we'll probably devote a large portion of those to the defensive side of the ball. We feel the first two or three years we really focused on the offensive side of the ball and those guys will continue to mature. Now is the time to focus on the defensive side of the ball.

"You look what the Denver Broncos have done the last several years. The resources they've invested in their defensive draft picks over the last five years, I think the majority of their picks were on defense early on in the draft. I think that's probably a plan we'll follow. The best way to get to where we want to be is to improve the defense and become a top-five defense. I don't think we'll go from the 20th-ranked defense to the second-rated defense in a year, but I think we can get to the point where we can be very successful and if we have a high-powered offense, we can do that even quicker."

Money will not be a concern when the Jaguars delve into free agency, hoping to land two or three quality players that can be instant starters, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Jaguars have a leg up on all others with approximately $78 million in projected cap space, the most in the NFL. That could go even higher if a couple of veterans such as running back Toby Gerhart are let loose in the days ahead, freeing up even more cap space.

What direction the Jaguars go with the fifth overall pick of the draft will be contingent on how successful they are in their pursuit of several key veterans in free agency. There's little doubt the two biggest needs on the team are a pass rusher and a free safety. Caldwell has said it's harder to find a good free safety to fit Bradley's scheme than it is to find a franchise quarterback. That would send a signal that a player like Florida State's talented Jalen Ramsey might be a more valuable pick than the best pass-rushing defensive end, Ohio State's Joey Bosa.

The defense must be improved. It gave up the second-most points in franchise history (448) in 2015. Over the past three seasons, the Jaguars recorded the fewest interceptions in the NFL (26) and ranked 31st in scoring defense (27.3 points per game), 31st in third-down defense (43.8 percent) and 29th in total defense (375.0 yards per game). But the addition of a few key free-agent acquisitions and using the majority of the team's eight draft picks for defensive players, Caldwell thinks the Jaguars could be in position to become an annual playoff team.

"It was more gearing toward this year and next year and the year after," Caldwell said. "If you would've asked me three years ago, 'Do you think you'll have a winning record by Year 3?' I wouldn't have been sold on that we would've. And the fact that we're even talking about being (in the) playoffs lets me know that we're probably closer than we think we are."

--The Jaguars have only re-signed one player to a contract extension since the season ended, but it was a significant one. Backup quarterback Chad Henne agreed to a two-year deal that is worth $8 million and includes incentives for playing time.

It's the third two-year contract agreement between Henne and the Jaguars. After turning the starting job over to Blake Bortles in the fourth game of the 2014 season, Henne has not taken a snap under center since. He's dressed for 29 consecutive games since his last start against Indianapolis on Sept. 21, 2014, but has done nothing but hold the clipboard and give Bortles advice when he comes to the sideline.

But the two have developed a close bond with Bortles crediting the nine-year veteran with giving him good support for the past two years.

"That was awesome," Bortles said about the Henne contract extension. "I'm happy for him, of course and it's super because having him here is a direct benefit for me and my ability to play football. He's helped a ton on and off the field. He's really a guy I can lean on and bounce things off of."

Henne will be in his fifth season with the Jaguars this fall. He's played in 28 games with them including 22 starts. He could have opted for the chance to compete for a starting job elsewhere as a free agent, but chose to re-sign with the team that he's comfortable with.

"We felt like coming into it, Jacksonville was a good spot," Henne said in a statement. "Really, there's not that many (starting) opportunities out there and those teams that needed a quarterback are most likely going to be in the same situation and draft a quarterback and then I'd be in that same (backup) position again. Why not be here where I feel comfortable and love working with Blake?"

Henne also likes the makeup of what the Jaguars are putting together, saying the Jaguars "have a lot of great, young talented guys. A lot of young talent (that) is only going to get better through the years."