Bucky Brooks Offers Insight on New Role with Jaguars, Pederson, Lawrence and More
Bucky Brooks has built a lot of memories as a Jacksonville Jaguar. Now, he is hoping to be a part of the next Jaguars run, joining the franchise's media team this week as the Jaguars' game day radio team's field analyst.
"Man, I'm really excited," Brooks told Jaguar Report this week.
"It brings me back to the team that I had maybe my fondest memories. That '96 season, going to the AFC Championship game, playing with the guys that I played with, and then watching the franchise kind of flourish the following years thereafter, like that's special to me, and I just want to be a part of the franchise when it goes back to playing at the level."
Brooks, who appeared in three playoff games for the Jaguars in his two seasons as a cornerback with the team from 1996-97, was at Jaguars training camp practice earlier this week with NFL Network, breaking down the new Jaguars squad he will now be covering and offering key insight on how he thinks the season will unfold.
"Look, I'm really excited. I'm not only excited to rejoin the franchise, but I'm excited to do it at a time where some of my former teammates are doing things with the organization," Brooks said. "Playing with Doug Pederson up in Green Bay and Mike McCoy, having a relationship with Brentson Buckner from our time together when I was scouting with the Carolina Panthers. To me, especially because all these guys that I've been around, I know what they're about, and they're about winning."
Doug Pederson, who Brooks was teammates with during the late 90s with the Green Bay Packers, is leading the Jaguars in his first training camp as head coach. Pederson was hired after a lengthy and extensive interview process that kicked off and eventually ended with Pederson, who will be replacing Urban Meyer after last year's 3-14 disaster.
"They're about really raising the standard of expectation and performance. And I think it will happen here, and I know everyone is typically optimistic when you have a coaching change but I feel like Doug Pederson and that staff was the right, it was the right move for the time," Brooks said.
"And I expect them to have a lot of success. And I am excited to see it happen."
Pederson joins the Jaguars after spending the 2021 season away from coaching. Before then, he lead the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-2020, going 42-37-1 and going 4-2 in the playoffs, including winning Super Bowl LII.
It is a near impossible task to win a Super Bowl with one team and then lead a second team to another. That is because it is a near impossible task to even reach a Super Bowl, something the Jaguars have never done. But Pederson has done it before, defeating Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and football's greatest dynasty in the New England Patriots.
"Well, one, he has won. And so whenever you have won a Super Bowl, and it's within a short proximity of when he takes over, everyone here has seen him hoist a trophy. So his words carry a little more weight as a Super Bowl champion," Brooks said.
"Two, he's been surrounded by successful coaches all along the way. You go back and watch his playing career. Look, he played for Don Shula, he played for Mike Holmgren, he spent a lot of time under Andy Reid, everyone that has touched him has been a winner. So he's taken bits and pieces from all of those guys and made it his own. And I think his program will be one that -- look, winning is the expectation, but winning will also be the end result."
The most important part of Pederson's quest to turn the Jaguars into winners will be his development of second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and long deemed one of the best quarterback prospects ever, threw 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions as a rookie as the Jaguars struggled on offense on all levels.
Lawrence is seemingly primed to take a second-year jump under Pederson, however, with the former quarterback and offensive coordinator having the experience and past success to suggest he can help Lawrence take his game to the next level.
"Yeah, I think he will make a big jump in his sophomore season. I think there are a couple of things that happened last year that will help him. One, he had more put on him from dealing with adversity, having to take a bigger and more forceful role as a leader," Brooks said.
"I think all this stuff prepared him well for the second year. But really coming in we talked about what they've surrounded him with in the quarterback room. You have Doug Pederson, Mike McCoy, both guys have played the game. Press Taylor's an outstanding quarterback developer. So all those guys not only have experience in terms of dealing with the quarterback, but they all see the quarterback position the same. And so when you have this synergy from top to bottom, and everyone is speaking the same message to the quarterback, he is going to grow."
"I think we've already seen it. Like anyone who's been around it, Offseason workouts, OTAs, the ball doesn't hit the ground much when Trevor is doing. That's the expectation from a number one overall pick. I think he's kind of evolving and becoming the player that we all thought that he would become. Now he has to do it in games. But I think everyone should have reason to be optimistic it is trending the right way when you look at Trevor."
In the Jaguars' quest for helping Lawrence improve is a newfound focus on the skill positions. The Jaguars added veteran weapons in free agency with wide receivers Zay Jones and Christian Kirk and tight end Evan Engram, while also adding right guard Brandon Scherff and returning 2021 first-round running back Travis Etienne.
"Well, I think the new weapons help a ton and I think the fact that they're veterans really helps the young quarterback. Just look up in Buffalo and Josh Allen. Josh Allen's game went from good to great when Stefon Diggs came over, when Cole Beasley came over," Brooks said. "Veteran players that are going to be in the spots that they're expected to be at when the ball needs to be thrown. So when you have a young quarterback like Trevor Lawrence, it's more important to have veterans because you want to take the uncertainty out of the equation for him."
"So now you have Zay Jones and Marvin Jones, Christian Kirk, Evan Engram, guys who have played in the league for a long time, they're going to run the plays exactly as it was drawn up and that's going to give him the certainty that when he hits the final step, and he's supposed to let the ball go, he is going to be able to trust that the guys are gonna be there. That is going to allow him to play faster and more decisive and I think you're gonna see a better product from the offense because he is playing more decisive."
While the offensive side of the ball receives the most attention, the Jaguar have also poured a plethora of resources into the defensive side of the ball over the last two seasons. This includes remaking the secondary with veterans such as Shaquill Griffin, Rayshawn Jenkins and Darious Williams, but also with young cornerstone pieces like 2021 second-round pick Tyson Campbell.
Campbell is a particularly important piece to Jacksonville's future on defense. He had a strong end to his rookie year after a start that was sidelined by injuries, a poor fit inside and Ja'Marr Chase. Campbell has started camp on fire this year and, to Brooks, as all of the tools to continue impressing.
"Well, I think for every player, the only thing -- there's nothing that can replace experience. Because he played so many games last year, he now has a feel for the speed of the game," Brooks said. "He has a feel for the complexity of the game and what it's like to face elite quarterbacks, elite wide receivers, and that gives him confidence knowing 'okay, I've seen it now where do I need to get better.' And throughout the offseason, he's diligently worked on some of the issues that you need to work on to be a better player.
"And then I believe this defense is a little better fit for him. A lot of pressure, some zone precious and man pressure. So now, I don't think the job would be as complex or as hard for him on the perimeter. They're gonna let him play to his natural ability. I think he will play better because now he can just kind of be the athlete that he's always been."
Finally, there is Travon Walker. Campbell's former teammate at Georgia and this year's No. 1 overall pick has a lot of attention on him after a meteoric rise during the draft process. He tested like one of the best athletes in the entire draft class and in recent memory, but did have just 9.5 career sacks at Georgia as he played a run-focused role.
Walker will now play 3-4 outside linebacker in Jacksonville and be tasked with flying off the edge across from Josh Allen. It will be a transition, but a transition Brooks thinks will still create some production.
"Well, I mean, eventually, you want him to be a dominant player. I think the one thing that stands out about him is man, he's a big, big man on the perimeter. But he has a lot of athleticism and a lot of versatility," Brooks said. "That gives Mike Caldwell the defense coordinator a lot of flexibility to do a bunch of different things. So then when you have he and Josh Allen on the edges in a 3-4 defense that moves around a lot, they bring pressure from every angle, it's gonna make it very, very difficult for offenses to kind of figure out who is the main guy, who is the designated rusher?
"I think for Travon Walker, my first expectation is to see him dominate against a run and then if he adds anything as a pass rusher, that's gravy. But if he is a dominant run stopper on the perimeter and forces everything to go back in, to me, I think is well worth the book and I think you'll be excited by what he's been able to do his rookie season."
