3 Changes Todd Wash Should Make to the Jaguars Defense Following the Bye

Through the first seven games of the 2020 season, one thing has been clear: the Jacksonville Jaguars have problems on defense ... a lot of them.

With the Jaguars (1-6) set to host the Houston Texans (1-6) in Week 9 following each team's bye week, the Jaguars now have nine more games to prove they can take the right steps on defense and build some positive momentum toward 2021.

At this point, not much has worked for the Jaguars and defensive coordinator Todd Wash this season. They are allowing the second-most points per game (31.4) while allowing 71.6 completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks (also second-worst in the NFL) and have just six sacks, the fewest in the league.

Because of these struggles, it is clear the Jaguars must make some defense adjustments following the bye week. But where will those changes come from?

"You know, looking back at the bye week, a lot of it, what we figured out is when our guys know what they’re doing and they’re out there, they can play well. And we’ve had some spurts of some good things, but the biggest thing for us, is we’ve got to continue to put them in the right spots," Wash said in a media conference on Thursday.

"And when they get in those right spots, they’ve got to be able to make some plays. But I think any time you get a bye week, you get to build a self-scout yourself, even in great detail. You get a little bit more time to teach some stuff and as we say each week, it’s Thursday, so we’ll see what happens when we get to the game.”

With this in mind, we are proposing three changes the Jaguars could, and should, make moving forward out of their bye week.

Give Daniel Thomas more snaps at safety

If there has been one clear weak spot on the defense this year, it has been the strong safety position. Josh Jones was named the starter after Ronnie Harrison was traded to Cleveland before the season began, but Jones' play has worsened over the course of the season following a strong training camp. According to Pro Football Reference, Jones has allowed the second-highest completion percentage of all strong safeties (90%), allowing 18 catches on 20 targets.

On those targets, receivers have gained 254 yards (14.1 yards per completion) and two touchdowns. PFR has only two other strong safeties with more yards allowed in coverage than Jones, while his 12.7 yards per target figure is tied for the third-highest. On top of all that, quarterbacks have a 152.1 passer rating when targeting Jones -- the highest passer rating quarterbacks have against all strong safeties this year.

At this point, the Jaguars should use the rest of the season to see what they have in their young safeties. Jarrod Wilson is a good free safety while Andrew Wingard is a special teams ace who is a solid backup, but the Jaguars can still do plenty of fact-finding about talented but unproven safety in Daniel Thomas.

Thomas was a fifth-round pick (No. 157 overall) in April and has been impressive in his limited snaps this season. He has played just 33 snaps on defense this season, making his biggest impact on special teams. He has flashed when given chances though, allowing just 13 yards in coverage and making 10 tackles without missing a single one. Thomas has an interesting skill set and there is an actual reason to play him as opposed to Jones as the Jaguars build to the future.

“You know, I think he’s got a good skill set. Once again, he’s a rookie and that kind of stuff. He’s learning as we go. There [are] some things that we can do, packages wise, to get Daniel in there, but he does have play-making ability. We’ve got to make sure that he understands everything we’re asking him to do. And we’ll see what happens in the next coming weeks in the season.”

Utilize the blitzing ability of the defense

There aren't many teams who blitz less than the Jaguars do, but this should change as the Jaguars march forward with a toothless pass rush. The secondary is already getting beat routinely when the Jaguars are dropping seven in coverage, disallowing the front four from having any chance at getting to the quarterback. Because of this Wash should begin to finally lean on the blitz, something that has never been his calling card.

According to Pro Football Reference, the Jaguars have blitzed on 69 plays this season. This gives them a blitz rate of 27%, the 12th-lowest in the league and so far lower than the 28.5% rate the Jaguars blitzed in 2019. But with Jacksonville struggling to get sacks or pressure with just four, they should look to increase this figure with the players they have on defense who have the skill sets to make impact plays on blitzes.

Despite the issues the Jaguars have had on defense this year, they actually have a few players who can be utilized as blitzers in multiple ways. These players include Myles Jack (6.5 career sacks), Joe Schobert (8.5 career sacks), K'Lavon Chaisson (gifted athlete with a skill set to win on stunts) and CJ Henderson (4 sacks at Florida).

"You know, I think we’ve done a [much] better job of getting them on third-and-7 plus, which allows our defensive line, obviously, to pin their ears back. It’s not a 50-50 down for them," Wash said Thursday. "And then we’ve also been bringing a little bit more pressure that statistically has shown, not only on just first and second downs, run-stopping pressures Then on third down we’re bringing a little bit more pressure. But I think a lot of it has to do with just getting those guys in third-and-7 plus situations.”

See what Josiah Scott and Luq Barcoo can do at cornerback

The Jaguars haven't seen much of fourth-round pick Josiah Scott this season, even despite the major issues in the secondary. Considering the presence of veteran cornerbacks D.J. Hayden and Tre Herndon, this isn't overly surprising. The Jaguars have had their nickel spot solidified (in theory), leaving Scott inactive on most Sundays in 2020.

Through the first seven games of the year, Scott has played just two defensive snaps. Similarly, rookie undrafted free agent Luq Barcoo has been inactive most games and has yet to take a snap on defense. With Jacksonville allowing the highest net passing yards gained per attempt (8.1) and the sixth-highest passer rating (107.6) this season, Jacksonville could stand to shake up the secondary some, even if on a short-term basis.

Scott is a natural nickel cornerback but has had to sit behind two veterans. But for now, Scott may be the wiser play on defense. Hayden was having his worst season as a Jaguar before a hamstring injury placed him on injured reserve, while Tre Herndon is better suited for the outside.

As for Barcoo, he was one of the team's best defensive backs in training camp and has a level of ball skills that many other members of the secondary do not. He has the ability to make big plays, something the Jaguars haven't seen from the quarterback position outside of two games this season. If the Jaguars are going to truly learn more about their roster over the next nine games, they need to give these two some more chances.

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