The Jacksonville Jaguars lead the NFL in total cap space with over $78.7 million available to be spent this offseason. Given defensive struggles during the 2020 season, especially against the run, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team allocate at least some of that capital toward free-agent upgrades along the defensive line.

Jacksonville hopes it has its long-term answers on the outside with Josh Allen and K’Lavon Chaisson, first-round picks in 2019 and 2020, respectively. But at the tackle spots, there are a lot more question marks. Defensive tackle Abry Jones’ contract expires, and coming off a season in which the 30-year-old only appeared in five games due to injury, the Jags will likely choose to move on.

Further, 2018 first-round pick Taven Bryan has had a disappointing career to this point. Despite not missing a game through three years, he’s coming off a season with just 20 tackles, and he has only 3.5 career sacks. If the Jaguars choose to decline his fifth-year option (which seems probable at this point), he will be a free agent after the 2021 season.

If Jacksonville wants to bring an immediate upgrade to its interior defensive line while also securing an answer for the long term, now is the time to do it. And if that’s the route it wants to go down, there’s one clear-cut option: Giants defensive end Leonard Williams. According to Spotrac, Williams’ market value is a five-year, $56.3 million contract. However, in their predictions post, they have Williams down for a four-year $80 million deal similar to that of Chris Jones, who has an average salary of $20 million.

Should the Jaguars pursue Williams?

It seems that Williams is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, though the franchise tag could be a last resort. As of Thursday, he and the New York Giants “aren’t even close” to reaching an agreement on a contract extension.

If a projection of $20 million is what Williams is looking at, pursuing his services could be on the table for the Jags. He would be a great fit to add along the interior of the defensive line with promising rookie DaVon Hamilton. At 27, there are no other players available in the free-agent class that fit the Jags’ needs and could provide a long-term solution.

Other top free-agent defensive tackles like Ndamukong Suh and Jurell Casey may still produce at a relatively high level, but they’re all well over the age of 30.

Williams is coming off the best season of his career, notching 11.5 sacks in 2020. He was a bit slow to come on after being drafted sixth overall by the New York Jets in 2015, notching seven sacks his second year before that number dropped to two in his third. He reached five sacks in 2018, but in October of 2019 he was traded to the Giants for a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick.

Should Williams be looking for another change of scenery, bringing 2020’s No. 7-ranked player in sacks to town would be a splashy move for Jacksonville. Sure, it may require making him the highest-paid player on the team (he would surpass Andrew Norwell), but that’s only because the Jags have limited big-time deals on their current roster.