Doug Marrone Reflects on Tramaine Brock and the Jaguars' Need For A Veteran Corner
On Saturday, the average age in the Jacksonville Jaguars outside cornerback room was 22 and a few months. There were four rookies, a second year and two third-years.*
*Not counting 30-year old D.J. Hayden, who primarily plays nickel.
On an already young team, it was an especially young room, with the Jaguars left bereft of experience after veteran Rashaan Melvin — brought in this spring as a free agent — elected to opt out the 2020 NFL Season in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. So on Sunday, the club signed 11-year veteran, Tramaine Brock.
The journeyman corner will be 32 by the time the season kicks off, bringing the years of experience that Head Coach Doug Marrone feels the room desperately needed following Melvin’s departure.
“I think if we would have lost a younger player by example, I think we would have brought a younger player in,” Marrone explained to reporters during a virtual press conference on Monday.
“I thought, you know, thinking about how we wanted to build that room and build that position. You know, when Rashaan left, we wanted to bring someone in, you know, that that has experienced—that has the length of play outside that you know, has done that before and I think that's important because, you know, at least you know, what you're getting.
“It was more for the, you know, getting another veteran in that room, a guy who has done it before, someone who has the ability to make this team in that position, you know, depending on how he performs and earns it.
“You'll see a lot of that where, you know, if if we feel that we needed someone from an experience standpoint and security standpoint, you know, you'll see us go with people that are a little bit older.”
The Jaguars drafted former Florida Gators corner CJ Henderson at No. 9 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, making him a presumed starter. On the other side, former undrafted free agent Tre Herndon—now in his third year—will likely return as the starter. The incumbent took over following Jalen Ramsey’s trade last season and earned a near season long starting role.
Brock has 11 career INT, like this one against Jared Goff. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
But Brock—who spent seven years with the San Francisco 49ers and started every game for them in 2016—has the benefit of being brought in before training camp really took to the field in pads. He now has a month to impress the coaches enough to take one of the starting spots. At the very least, he’ll give a bevy of young players an older voice to whom they can listen.
Of the 117 games Brock has played in his NFL career, he’s started 56 of them. He has 262 career tackles, 55 passes defended, 11 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and one forced fumble.
“I think Tramaine’s a really good player. And he's played well in this league at times. And we're excited to have him, we're excited that he was even out there to be honest with you,” admits Marrone.
"And I think…probably because some people looked at age or looked at other things. But, you know, I've been around enough to know that, hey, some people, it's just different, you know? So when Tramaine comes in here, we're excited to see him.”
Now for Marrone and position coach Tim Walton, comes the challenge of acclimating the veteran Brock to the Jaguars, preparing the young guys and rookies during a truncated offseason and having them all arrive at the same destination despite very different paths.
Says Marrone, “what I'm trying to do is, is manage both both types of players. So, you know, as a veteran guy trying to manage him in a different way than I am managing maybe the younger players, not to say one's right or wrong.
“But I think instead of trying to take one way and put it on, on all players, I'm trying to look at you know, hey, where do I maybe rest, you know, saying some of these older guys or guys that have had a history of injuries, you know, and try and get them ready to go and hey, these younger guys, you know, how do I go with them, or I don't overdo it, but I can get a chance to have a good evaluation for them to compete.”
