Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley may not want to call the 2015 season a "make-or-break" one for left tackle Luke Joeckel, but there's simply no denying that Joeckel needs to deliver on at least some of the promise that made him the one-time second-overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft or his Jaguars and NFL future could suddenly be in doubt.
Here are Bradley's recent comments, via Mike DiRocco of ESPN:
"With Luke, it was his first full year like, 'I played left tackle. I understand some of the things I need to work on and I am going to go get that right,'" Bradley said. "Our coaches were talking about his vision and we've got to work with him and his overall leverage. Last year we were talking about his strength and, 'Let's get your strength right and work on that.' He did a great job in the offseason so now it's getting more into the technical things.
"We look for him to make a good jump this year but make-or-break, we don't talk like it in those terms."
Joeckel entered the NFL as something of a "can't-miss" prospect, but a fractured ankle in his rookie season cost him 11 games and, more importantly, a significant amount of development at a crucial time in his career.
In his second season, Joeckel was clearly rusty and struggled with footwork and technique. He was part of an offensive line unit that gave up a league-high and franchise-record 71 sacks.
"If Joeckel struggles again, then the Jaguars will have to start considering moving in another direction at left tackle," writes DiRocco.
Joeckel at times was able at time last season to display the dominance which made him such a high pick in the first place, but too often he was overpowered and simply seemed unsure of himself.
He's added 13-pounds and stayedin Jacksonville in the offseason to work on technique. He's doing and saying all the right things, but unless he clearly shows improvement next season, Bradley and the Jaguars will be faced with a difficult decision.
"Bradley and company can frame it any way they like, but they'll need to consider their options once the year comes to an end," writes Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com. "They have to make a call on Joeckel's 2017 option next May and anything other than a significant step forward will make it hard to make a further commitment to Joeckel at a crucial position on the offensive line."
If the Jaguars are to improve offensively and quarterback Blake Bortles is to take the next step in his development, Joeckel will need to turn around an NFL career that has been substandard to this point.
