Jaguars' Robert Hainsey Key to Offensive Success

There is no position that is guaranteed to touch the ball on every offensive snap outside of the center. Not even the quarterback has that privilege and thus I have always said that the most important position on a football team outside of the quarterback is the center.

More important than tackle, edge rusher or anything else, because what a center does before the ball is snapped is as critical to team success as anything else. The amount of pressure a center can take off a quarterback can not be defined.

A good center will take care of the protection calls, adjustments, and assignments. Those are crucial seconds that a quarterback can spend evaluating a defense. The center serves as the QB's second pair of eyes, pointing out things that the QB may not see.

The center is responsible for getting the ball in the hands of the QB and providing the time needed in order to execute a play so if Trevor Lawrence is to take a step up in 2025, newly signed center Robert Hainsey will be a big reason for it.

GM James Gladstone spoke recently about the acquisition of Hainsey's services.

“It was a massive priority, right? That's some weight off the shoulders of [QB] Trevor [Lawrence] at the line of scrimmage, that now because of the familiarity from Robert, he doesn't have to bear as a quarterback. At the same time, Robert got one op [opportunity] to start this past season versus the New Orleans Saints, and I'd encourage anybody and everybody to watch that game and understand why it was a player of interest."

"Think about the intangible elements in the back of your mind as it relates to a performance on the field, and you'll see that clear as day in that game," Gladstone continued.

"Robert was not going to allow that opportunity—he didn't know how many he was going to get last season—to make it so that by the time that pro-free agency kicked off, that bell rang on Monday, that he was going to be given an op because somebody saw exactly what we did in him and that's a player that does not quit. The whistle blows and he's playing through it, and that's something that we really, really value.”

Lawrence is going to be behind a brand new offensive line so expect him and Brian Thomas Jr to put up video game numbers in 2025.

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