Jaguars 2023 Season Review: Cornerbacks
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ season came to a heartbreaking end earlier this month, and with that end comes a new beginning; the beginning of the Jaguars’ offseason. In the weeks to come, I’ll be taking a look at each of the team’s position groups in an attempt to identify their biggest needs and soundest strengths.
Current offensive coordinator Press Taylor is under a microscope following a disappointing season while Mike Caldwell, their former defensive coordinator, was fired merely one day after the season’s conclusion. The 2023 season left things turned upside down in Duval county.
Given the fact that his replacement was already hired, it appears that the team has already identified some of their largest issues and begun to address them accordingly. Ryan Nielson, former Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator, is no stranger to repair work; in his only season with the Falcons, Nielson transformed a bottom-five unit into the 11th best total defense in the NFL.
Jacksonville has two major problems to address on defense, those being a lack of production from pass rushers not named Josh Allen and the amount of yardage they were allowing through the air. In Atlanta, Nielson not only transformed their 25th ranked passing defense into the league’s 11th-best unit, but also doubled their sack total from 21 to 40.
It’s easy to forget he accomplished such a turnaround in one season, especially considering a majority of the personnel from the Falcons’ subpar 2022 defense returned. Now, Nielson will be tasked with reinvigorating a Jaguars defense that plateaued down the stretch.
That all starts with sound coverage.
The Jaguars cornerback room took a step back this season with the loss of Shaquil Griffin in free agency. Though Griffin failed to make much of an impact since his signing in 2021, he represented depth at the position at times for the Jaguars.
Cornerback has been a need prior to his acquisition, and remains one following his departure.
The acquisition of Tre Herndon helped soften that blow, but with the seven-year veteran hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent it’s more likely than not his time in Duval ounty is at an end.
Depth pieces Gregory Junior and Chris Claybrooks, the latter also being an unrestricted free agent, could join Herndon on the open market. Should all three depart that leaves just six cornerbacks under contract for the 2024 season.
As it currently stands, all but two of those six corners will be playing the 2024 season on expiring contracts. Tyson Campbell, Darious Williams, Amani Oruwariye, and Tevaughn Campbell–barring an extension–are each in the final year of their respective contracts with only Christian Braswell and Montaric Brown under contract through at least 2026.
The Jaguars cornerback room will undergo massive change in the next two offseasons, and many familiar faces may not be in it. In an attempt to get a clearer sense of the players at the position, let’s take a look at how each played in 2023.
Tevaughn Campbell
2023 (1 GP): 1 FUM (1 LOST)
Campbell is a veteran presence in the secondary that spent a grand majority of the 2023 season on the Jaguars practice squad. He was elevated multiple times; once against the New Orleans Saints and later against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Both times Campbell was signed to the active roster to provide relief in the wake of a Tyson Campbell injury, but he failed to record a single defensive snap against the Steelers. In his one and only snap of the season, however, he did manage a coverage grade of 60 according to PFF.
The Jaguars cornerback room may be younger than we’ve ever seen as soon as next offseason, and Campbell may be a cap casualty as soon as this offseason. At 30 years old, his deal only takes him through the end of next season.
He’ll likely play little to no snaps next season, if he’s even on the roster.
Christian Braswell
2023 (3 GP): Assigned to IR on Oct. 14
Braswell, a sixth-round rookie hailing from Rutgers University, was never expected to make much of an impact in year one. His brief stint on the active roster reflects that; following an inactive designation in week one, Braswell played special teams in the next three games.
Unfortunately for the former Scarlet Knight, a hamstring injury robbed him of the remainder of his rookie season in October. His 21-day practice window was opened in December, but Braswell failed to make another appearance.
After a decorated collegiate career, Braswell has yet to find his footing in the NFL. However, he is one of the only cornerbacks on the roster under contract in 2025, making his development in year two and beyond a top priority for the Jacksonville secondary.
Gregory Junior
2023 (9 GP): 11 TOT, 2 TFL, 1 PDEF, 0 INT, 0 FF
As it pertains to youth with potential, Junior represents one side of a coin for the Jaguars. Recording a snap in just three games this season, Junior also represented an emergency option at the cornerback position.
To their delight, he looked solid in those three games. In losses to the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals, Junior made the most of his limited opportunities.
Where Gregory shined was his ability behind the line of scrimmage, both stopping the run and rushing the passer. Junior helped hold the Browns to 82 rushing yards and just 2.9 yards per attempt.
The 49ers and Bengals, however, both gained over 140 yards on the ground. While Junior may not be a one-man wrecking crew, he is more than capable of being an above average run defender in the nickel.
With Herndon likely lost to free agency, Junior will have a massive opportunity next year to secure a starting spot in the Jaguars base nickel defense. Having already earned head coach Doug Pederson’s praise in last season’s training camp, it’s not a stretch to assume next year will be just as fruitful for the former sixth-round pick.
Montaric Brown
2023 (11 GP): 34 TOT, 0 TFL, 4 PDEF, 0 INT, 0 FF
According to Pro Football Focus, Brown was far and away the worst corner on the roster. In the absence of context, Brown appears to be a complete and total negative for Jacksonville.
After all, he recorded a 51.3 season grade in 2023… up from 37.3 in the year prior. Brown represents the other side of the coin Junior has already stamped his name upon.
Brown took a massive step forward this year, transitioning from the practice squad to a solid depth piece at the position. With the injury bug infecting the Jaguars cornerback depth, Brown was called upon often down the stretch.
Brown played in seven of the team’s last 12 games, and made his mark in coverage by defending four passes. There’s little to show of as it pertains to high-level play, regardless, Brown made a jump this year.
Should he be penciled in as a starter next season, however, that will mean the Jaguars have done little to address the problems facing their cornerback room in the near future. As much as Brown has flashed in his second season, he still has a ways to go before he can be relied upon as a weekly starter.
Tyson Campbell
2023 (11 GP): 61 TOT, 2 TFL, 5 PDEF, 1 INT, 1 FF
Third-year man Tyson Campbell was poised for a massive leap in his third year in Jacksonville. Unfortunately for Duval faithful, that never materialized. As a matter of fact, the former Georgia Bulldog seemingly took a step back.
His coverage grade took a massive hit; from 81.2 in 2022 to 56.4 per Pro Football Focus.
Part of that regression could be due to injury; Campbell suffered a hamstring injury week six, which sidelined him for five consecutive games. Nearly a month later, just one week following his return to action, Campbell injured his quadricep and missed the next three contests.
Though he would ultimately play in the season finale, Campbell missed eight games in 2023. He had only missed five due to injury in the two years prior, raising concerns about his durability moving forward.
Campbell, however, made massive strides as a run defender. He was already solid against the run, but in 2023 he took his game to a new level and posted a career-high 86.5 run defense grade.
As if that wasn’t enough, the film speaks to his improvement as well.
In week one against the Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars knew they would have their hands full with the uber-athletic Anthony Richardson under center. With former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Stichen calling the plays, Campbell had plenty of opportunities against a strong running scheme.
For Campbell, defending the run is built off of how he plays the pass. Utilizing the same traits that helped him post a career-best coverage grade in 2022, Campbell has grown extremely adept against the run.
During the Colts first scoring drive, the offense faced a 3rd and 2 and whipped out a heavy formation. With two offensive tackles on the right side of the line, and two tight ends on the opposite end.
The third tight end motioned behind the second’s hip, and at the snap ran across the line of scrimmage to the right flat. The X receiver had Campbell, and tried to take him inside and away from the play.
Campbell jammed Pittman at the line and rode him inside while keeping his eyes in the backfield. Ironically, that eye placement is what allowed Kyle Granson to pop open in the flat, but Campbell’s quick diagnosis of the situation after the fact kept it contained to an 8-yard gain.
There was nobody else there, and even if Granson hadn’t stumbled out of bounds after the catch, Campbell would’ve caught him regardless.
Later in that game, the Colts found themselves down 17-14 on 4th and 1. They opted to go for it, and gave running back Deon Jackson the responsibility of gaining the first down.
It was a toss to the right out of the nearly the same overload formation they had run a play-action pass out of earlier, this time with the intention of gaining the edge. Indianapolis had five blockers to the Jaguars four defenders; and forgot about Campbell, who’s patience kept him in the perfect position to catch Jackson and rip the ball loose.
Campbell’s primary asset is his patience, a skill he has honed in the season since. He will, however, need to make a considerable jump next year to be worthy of a lucrative second contract.
Tre Herndon
2023 (16 GP): 46 TOT, 1 TFL, 9 PDEF, 0 INT, 1 FF
Of the six Jaguars cornerbacks to play more than 50 defensive snaps, Tre Herndon was likely the most complete and consistent all-around defender of the bunch. In 2023 Herndon enjoyed the finest season of his career, finishing as the 38th-highest graded corner in the NFL.
He had finished no higher than the league’s 90th-best corner in each of the five years prior. Herndon served as the Jaguars’ starting nickel corner and primarily operated out of the slot, benefitting from both the talent around him and the steady role in which he operated.
Despite posting a 29.7 run defense grade, Herndon was solid on the ground at times. He usually takes a strong angle and tracks down the run with urgency, but his lack of size creates mismatches for pulling guards to exploit.
In an especially frustrating rep from week one, Herndon follows a run all the way to the right side of the formation, eventually turning and driving on the ball just outside the tackle box. He takes a perfect angle, but once engaged with a blocker there’s little he can do to shed it.
In coverage Herndon was solid, representing your second-highest graded corner on the team in that category. Unfortunately for Herndon his deal is up and, barring an extension, we’ve likely seen the last of him in teal and black.
Should he depart in free agency, the least we can do is thank him for his services.
Darious Williams
2023 (17 GP): 53 TOT, 3 TFL, 19 PDEF, 4 INT (1 TD), 2 FF
This season, Darious Williams has served as Campbell’s direct inverse; the former Los Angeles Ram made massive strides in coverage, but took a step back against the run. Williams posted a coverage grade of 85.3 according to Pro Football Focus, improving his coverage grade by over 20 points from his first season with the Jags.
PFF also graded Williams as the 13th-best cornerback in the entire league, and with a track record like his it's hard to find fault with their conclusion. 2023 was the third season Williams posted a grade of 75 or more, and has received a grade of at least 60 in every season of his career.
Williams was far and away the best cornerback on the team in 2023, appearing in every game and covering the opposition's best wide receiver more often than not. Without his elite–yes, elite–ability in coverage, the Jaguars defense gets considerably worse.
How much worse?
Amongst the three starting cornerbacks in Jacksonville’s base nickel package–Campbell, Williams, and Herndon–Williams was the only one to allow a passer rating below 100. To clarify further, Williams allowed a passer rating of 69.6.
The next best mark on the roster was Gregory Junior, who allowed a 95.4 passer rating when targeted. Williams is your best defensive back by about… a lightyear, and without him it’s hard to imagine this defense covering anybody except some pee-wee squad averaging 130.5 passing yards per game.
In short, without Williams you aren’t stopping anybody but the Chicago Bears.
The only caveat with Williams’ job security is his age. Set to turn 31 years old this offseason, justifying an extension seems difficult despite how reliable he’s been for a struggling Jaguars secondary.
If there’s any 31 year old that’s played his way to a new deal, however, it’s Williams. His presence could provide the perfect kind of veteran leadership a potentially extremely young Jaguars secondary will need to develop.
He’ll definitely be your best corner next season, and likely will the year after as well.
