Jaguars vs. Saints: 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 13-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints 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 (59 snaps)
OG Andrew Norwell: 59
C Brandon Linder: 59
OT Jawaan Taylor: 59
OT Cam Robinson: 59
QB Gardner Minshew: 59
RB Leonard Fournette: 55
WR Chris Conley: 49
WR Dede Westbrook: 46
WR DJ Chark: 42
OG A.J. Cann: 38
TE Geoff Swaim: 32
TE Seth DeValve: 24
OG Will Richardson: 21
WR Marqise Lee: 21
TE Ben Koyack: 11
WR Keelan Cole: 7
OT Cedric Ogbuehi: 6
RB Ryquell Armstead: 2
- I am having a hard time understanding why DJ Chark played less snaps than Chris Conley and Dede Westbrook. The Jaguars big play threat was thrown off by the Saints bracket coverage all game, but Conley and Westbrook were not getting it done against one-on-one coverage all game. Chark needs to be the workhorse of the receiver group, even when all of the defense's attention is devoted to him.
- A week after Will Richardson played six more snaps at right guard than A.J. Cann did, he fell back to second fiddle at the position and played 17 less snaps than Cann. This just shows that there isn't much separation between the two at the moment since the Jaguars coaching staff flips their roles from week to week.
- Marqise Lee was likely going to eclipse his season high snap total of 25 before exiting the game in the third quarter with a foot injury. It is unclear how long his injury will keep him sidelined, but it was starting to look like he was finding a role in the offense again before he was hurt.
Defense (66 snaps)
FS Jarrod Wilson: 66
LB Myles Jack: 66
CB A.J. Bouye: 66
CB Tre Herndon: 66
SS Ronnie Harrison: 64
LB Najee Goode: 63
DE Calais Campbell: 51
DE Yannick Ngakoue: 43
DT Abry Jones: 40
DE Josh Allen: 38
DT Marcell Dareus: 38
CB D.J. Hayden: 36
DT Taven Bryan: 30
LB Leon Jacobs: 29
DE Dawuane Smoot: 20
DE Lerentee McCray: 4
FS Cody Davis: 3
SS Andrew Wingard: 2
CB Breon Borders: 1
LB Quincy Williams: 0
- The most notable takeaway from the defense's snap counts was the change at the weakside linebacker position, with rookie Quincy Williams not starting for the first time all season. Eighth-year linebacker Najee Goode started in his place and played all but three snaps, while Williams didn't play a single defensive snap. Williams was benched after a terrible Week 5 against the Carolina Panthers, and it seems now that the job belongs to Goode moving forward.
- Taven Bryan played a season high 30 snaps on Sunday, a week after the second-year defensive tackle strangely played only 7 snaps. The usage of Bryan has been perplexing all season but when he was given the opportunity to make plays against the Saints, he largely made the best of them. He needs to keep playing more and more.
