Why Analyst Thinks Jourdan Lewis and Jaguars Are a 'Perfect Marriage'

Romance, partnership, even a sunny post from Ponte Vedra Beach worthy of Instagram. Jacksonville this week found someone to fill the hole in its heart and its defensive secondary.

Bucky Brooks called the prenuptials between cornerback Jourdan Lewis and the Jaguars a perfect marriage.

“By adding the top nickel corner on the market,” the NFL.com analyst wrote on Friday, “the Jaguars solved a pressing need on a defense littered with holes. Lewis adds instincts, awareness and playmaking skills to a defensive backfield that was routinely torched in 2024.”

Torched to the tune of 257.4 passing yards allowed per game, worst in the NFL. The next-closest team was Baltimore at 244.1. Jacksonville as a team had just six interceptions last season. Detroit’s Kerby Joseph had nine by himself. Xavier McKinney had eight.

Enter Lewis, who routinely thwarted offenses during his eight years with the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, new Jaguars head coach Liam Coen lost sleep before and after playing Lewis last season.

Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator last year, Coen and the Buccaneers were in a dogfight midway through the fourth quarter at Dallas on Dec. 22. In front of a national TV audience on Sunday Night Football, the Buccaneers needed a win to keep pace with the Falcons, who won earlier in the day.

Not with Lewis on the field. The cornerback beat Jalen McMillan in coverage and intercepted Baker Mayfield in the Dallas end zone with 6:22 left in the fourth quarter. Earlier, Lewis pressured Mayfield on a nickel blitz, made several tackles in the run game, and broke up another pass. Dallas went on to win, 26-24.

“One of the most exciting elements to Jourdan Lewis is that every offensive coordinator that I’ve come in contact with has always highlighted him as somebody who they have to account for in their game planning,” Jacksonville general manager James Gladstone said Thursday. “And when you turn on the film, it’s easy to see why.

“Now, one of the things that we really wanted to do for our defensive backfield is bring a veteran presence with a level of doggedness and toughness that was going to level up our current style of play.”

And to level up that style of play, Jacksonville needed to level up its offer to the unrestricted free agent. The Jaguars landed him with an offer of three years for $30 million, with $20 million fully guaranteed and $12.5 million in his first season. Brooks said it was money well spent.

“Some question the magnitude of the deal signed by the veteran, but adding a high-end player as their 12th defensive starter is well worth the cost for the Jaguars.”

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