What Getting Robert Hainsey Back Means for Jaguars

Hainsey's impact extends beyond the stat sheet

With Robert Hainsey out, the Jacksonville Jaguars turned to seventh-round rookie Jonah Monheim to take over at center. The natural assumption would be that Monheim was abysmal, leading to the overall pitiful performance from the offensive line. However, that wasn't the case.

He certainly could have played better, but for a seventh-round pick, he had an admirable showing in an unexpectedly larger role. The reality is, Robert Hainsey impacts the Jaguars with more than just his pass protection and his run blocking. As the starting center, he's the captain of the offensive line, Trevor Lawrence's mouthpiece, and one of the bona fide leaders of this team. Head Coach Liam Coen recently spoke on what he means to Jacksonville:

"Robert, last year in Tampa, before we had drafted anybody, he was our starting center. He was our center competing all the way through training camp. So, I had so much interaction with him. And him and Baker [Mayfield] are like this," he said, mimicking a minuscule amount of space to demonstrate their connection.

"So, much of our collaboration on working through an offense was run through Hainsey. Even when he wasn't the starting center for us throughout the entire year, you're bouncing protection ideas off of him, run schemes, ways of targeting runs, and how he sees defensive structures. We had a lot of that collaboration and communication last year, and that was what made it pretty easy to say, ‘Hey, let's bring him on in pro free agency.’ And since then, just his leadership, the room, the accountability that he has every single day, that's really what he helps bring. And then when he is playing and feeling good, he is playing at a high level."

His IQ, grit, and confidence have proven infectious for the Jaguars so far this season. They'll need him to bring all of that back to the offensive line if they're to upset the Los Angeles Rams in London.