A Rebuilt Secondary Is First Step to a New Jaguars’ Defense in 2021
As of early June, Jacksonville Jaguars Head Coach Urban Meyer isn’t quite sure what the defense will look like this fall. Under he and new defensive coordinator Joe Cullen, there are bound to be changes. Players have alluded to a switch to a more 3-4 style that has escaped the Jags in recent years.
But as for the details? Those are still coming.
“It’s hard to give you a full evaluation, obviously that’ll come after we do a lot more against each other,” Meyer told local media last week. “Scheme, they’re still learning it—and we haven’t been—we’re in shorts and just feeling it out. In phase three, the players association—we’re not supposed to do a lot against each other, there’s no winner or loser, so it’s hard to give you a true evaluation, but I like where we’re at.”
Where they’re at currently though isn’t exactly where they’ll be by the time the season comes. That much at least Meyer knows.
“I see a rebuilt secondary,” explained Meyer.
The secondary saw some of the most overall this offseason, bringing in two new members/potential immediate starters (Shaquill Griffin and Rayshawn Jenkins) in free agency then three as rookies (Tyson Campbell, DJ Daniel and Andre Cisco). The club also re-signed Sidney Jones. The stockpiling was intentional, according to Meyer, who sees the secondary becoming a jumping-off point for the entire reshaped defense.
“Even though CJ [Henderson] isn’t full speed yet, he’s getting close, but we have [Rayshawn] Jenkins and Shaquill [Griffin] added to the guys that were already there. So, I’m anticipating our secondary to be one of the strengths of our team. We worked in free agency to help it, we worked in the draft to help it and I feel we have some good core players there. So, that’s where we start.”
If the defensive line is the foundation for the defense (as Meyer has often said) and the secondary is the strength, the linebacker corps needed to be addressed as well. The Jags have two strong core players there, in Joe Schobert and Myles Jack. Urban Meyer doesn’t want to change that, just enhance it to match the bar he’s raised in the other units.
"We also brought in Damien Wilson for maturity and experience to go with Myles Jack and Joe [Schobert] and then we have some good young players behind them. So, I feel really good about our personnel on defense.”
Wilson flourished in his last two seasons as a starter with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“He’s done a nice job; real smart and loves to play. He knows all three of the (linebacker) positions if he has to play in there. You’ve seen him go from the SAM to the WILL, and he has good coverage ability,” Head Coach Andy Reid explained to Kansas City media back in 2019. “He’s big and strong, so matchups become important there.”
So what will the Jacksonville Jaguars defense look like this fall? That’s to be determined. But it will be different, it will be rebuilt, and if defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris is to be believed, it will be well-rounded.
“We have guys on the edge that can rush. We have guys in the middle that can stop the run. We have DBs that can cover them. We have linebackers that are fast, that can move good. We have a great all-around defense. As long as we communicate and we’re giving that effort, I think we’re going to be in a great spot.”
