By far the best two weapons of the offense of the Jaguars are running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones Drew.  Fred Taylor has stayed relatively healthy the last couple of seasons and he’s still a playmaker.  He does a lot of the heavy lifting in the running game often running between the tackles.  But, when he gets outside of the tackle box he still has enough speed to get down the football field.  Taylor has been kept fresh by splitting time with Jones-Drew.  Taylor played in 15 games (all starts) for the Jaguars and he carried the ball 223 times for 1,202 yards (5.4 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 9 passes for 58 yards (6.4 avg).  Look for Taylor to pad his career totals this season as long as he can remain healthy.  Taylor has now played in 127 games (123 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 2,285 times for 10,715 yards (4.7 ypc) with 61 TD runs.  He has also caught 270 passes for 2,263 yards (8.4 avg) with 8 TD grabs. 

Maurice Jones-Drew is basically a little bad ass running back.  He only stands 5′7″ but he’s a solid 208 pounds.  He’s hard to tackle because he’s so short and powerful and he’s a much better receiver than any man his size should be.  He can take the ball to the house on any play because of his speed.  Drew played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Jaguars last season and he carried the ball 167 times for 768 yards (4.6 ypc) with 9 TD runs.  He also caught 40 passes for 407 yards (10.2 avg).  Look for Drew to even handle more of the load in the running game this season to lessen the wear and tear on Fred Taylor.  Drew has now played in 31 games (1 start) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 333 times for 1,709 yards (5.1 ypc) with 22 TD runs.  He also has caught 86 passes for 843 yards (9.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

Rookie Chauncey Washington will likely be the #3 RB for the Jaguars this season.  He’s a tough guy who likes to run between the tackles and he played against top competition at USC.  Washington played in 12 games (11 starts) last year at USC and he carried the ball 195 times for 969 yards (5.0 ypc) with 10 TD runs.  He also caught 7 passes for 59 yards (8.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He should do a good job if pressed into duty for the Jaguars this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A

David Garrard always had the confidence that he would be a good starter in the NFL and he proved last season that he probably should have started over Byron Leftwich the whole time.  Garrard doens’t have the best arm in the league but it’s more than strong enough to make all of the throws he needs to.  Garrard is also great at avoiding the blitz and running the ball as he proved last season when he ripped the heart out of the Pittsburgh Steelers in last seasons’ playoffs.  Garrard played in 12 games (all starts) for the Jaguars last season and he completed 208 of 325 passes (64%) for 2,509 yards with 18 TD passes and 3 interceptions (102.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 49 times for 185 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Garrard should build on last seasons’ success and add to his already impressive career numbers.  Garrard has now played in 40 games (30 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 521 0f 864 passes (60.3%) for 6,052 yards with 36 TD passes and 16 interceptions (87.7 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 164 times for 822 yards (5.0 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  The only thing that could slow Garrard down this season is if he gets injured.

The Jaguars will be in trouble if David Garrard gets hurt as they have replaced Quinn Gray (Texans) with Cleo Lemon.  Lemon has had problems adjusting to the offense of the Jaguars as it’s more convential than the one he played in under Cam Cameron in Miami last year.  Lemon has a good arm and he has enough mobility to avoid the pass rush.  But, he’s not very polished and he throws a lot of passes that have fans scratching their heads trying to figure out what Lemon was thinking.  Lemon played in 9 games (7 starts) for the Dolphins last season and he completed 173 of 309 passes (56%) for 1,773 yards with 6 TD passes and 6 interceptions (71.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 31 times for 102 yards (3.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  The Jaguars will be much better off in 2008 if Cleo Lemon doesn’t add anything to his career numbers.  Lemon has now played in 13 games (8 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 211 of 377 passes (56%) for 2,185 yards with 8 TD passes and 7 interceptions (72.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 34 times for 109 yards (3.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.

Todd Bouman might be able to beat out Cleo Lemon for the #2 job in training camp but it will be a uphill battle seeing how Bouman last appeared in the NFL in 2005 with the Saints.  Bouman has played in 42 games (6 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 129 of 230 passes (56.1%) for 1,683 yards with 11 TD passes and 11 interceptions (75.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 21 times for 86 yards (4.1 ypc).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

Chauncey Washington is a power back.  He is 5′11″, 215 pounds and he runs a 4.6 40.  Washington is a very hard runner who’s best between the tackles.  He played in 32 games (15 starts) at USC and he carried the ball 371 times for 1,778 yards (4.8 ypc) with 19 TD runs.  He also caught 17 passes for 158 yards (9.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Washington will have to be really impressive in camp to have any chance of making the Jaguars’ roster.

Trae Williams is the classic nickel or dime back as he is a very skilled ball hawk against the pass, but he’s very weak against the run.  Williams is 5′9″, 193 pounds but he runs a very quick 4.45 40 yard dash.  He played in 49 games (45 starts) at South Florida and he finished up with 165 tackles, broke up 24 passes and he had 16 interceptions.  This was a solid pick for the Jags.

Thomas Williams moved all over the place at USC but he was mostly a backup there.  He is 6′0″, 235 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40.  Williams excels in pass defense as he can run with running backs and tight ends in coverage.  He can handle inside linebacker also and he’s a special teams standout which is probably where he will make his biggest impact on the Jaguars.  Williams played in 49 games (14 starts) at USC and he finished up with 117 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, had 3 sacks, broke up 8 passes and had 3 interceptions.  He will likely be a better pro than he was in college.