Jaguars vs. Falcons: Snap Count Analysis
While watching a game live can give you one impression of a player's usage, looking at the actual amount of snaps they played compared to their teammates can also give insight into the team's strategy and outlook.
When looking at the snap counts for the Jacksonville Jaguars after their 24-12 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, it is clear to see what kind of plan the Jaguars went into the game with, and what limitations they had from a personnel standpoint.
Who played a lot, and why? Did the snaps mean anything or nothing? We examine below:
Offense (62 snaps):
OT Cam Robinson: 62
OG Andrew Norwell: 62
C Brandon Linder: 62
OG A.J. Cann: 62
OT Jawaan Taylor: 62
QB Gardner Minshew: 62
RB Leonard Fournette: 58
WR DJ Chark: 54
WR Chris Conley: 48
WR Dede Westbrook: 43
TE Seth DeValve: 39
WR Keelan Cole: 25
TE Nick O'Leary: 22
TE Ben Koyack: 16
RB Ryquell Armstead: 4
OT Cedric Ogbuehi: 1
- It has been trending this way for the last several weeks, but it is clear now the Jaguars' coaching staff has decided on A.J. Cann as their right guard. WIll Richardson's snaps had been falling more and more each week and this week he played zero snaps as Cann took every last rep at guard. Head coach Doug Marrone has said all year they would only end the right guard platoon when they feel like a player has separated himself, so it appears this has happened in the teams eyes.
- Despite admitting on Friday that he wasn't yet 100% in his recovery from a Week 14 ankle injury, wide receiver DJ Chark still played a big role vs. the Falcons, being targeted seven times and playing the most snaps of any wide receiver. It did not look like Chark was playing at full speed Sunday so it is unlikely he was close to being as healthy as he can be, but he still got a lot of run.
- Jawaan Taylor, 22, is the youngest player on the roster but is one game away from playing every single offensive snap this season. That is impressive for a rookie starter who has shown he is mature beyond his years.
Defense (75 snaps):
FS Jarrod Wilson: 75
CB A.J. Bouye: 75
CB Tre Herndon: 75
LB Donald Payne: 75
SS Ronnie Harrison: 71
DE Yannick Ngakoue: 66
LB Austin Calitro: 56
DL Calais Campbell: 54
DT Taven Bryan: 47
DE Josh Allen: 42
DT Abry Jones: 41
LB Leon Jacobs: 39
CB D.J. Hayden: 36
DL Dawaune Smoot: 25
DT Akeem Spence: 25
FS Cody Davis: 18
FS Andrew Wingard: 4
LB Joe Giles-Harris: 1
- Jacksonville went with a few three-safety packages to try to slow down Julio Jones, hence the reason Cody Davis and Andrew Wingard played a few snaps and Austin Calitro didn't play as much as Donald Payne. It clearly didn't work, but it serves as the reasoning.
- Dawaune Smoot is just a rotational player in the Jacksonville defense, which is why he plays so fewer snaps than Josh Allen, Yannick Ngakoue, Taven Bryan and others. But he is used predominantly on third downs and makes the most out of his limited snaps, totaling five sacks on the season thus far. On Sunday, he was the only Jaguars player to record a sack, another good showing in limited snaps.
