Could Luq Barcoo be the Jaguars' Next Undrafted Success Story in the Secondary?

In a year where it was harder than ever for an undrafted free agent to make an NFL roster, four did it for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And among those four is a player who could potentially follow in the footsteps of some of his teammates who are current starters.

Jacksonville has done a good job of finding undrafted free agent talent in recent years, particularly since 2013. Abry Jones, Allen Hurns, Corey Grant, Jarrod Wilson, Tre Herndon and several others have become key contributors for the team after joining the team via the draft's "eighth round", and there is always hope for another player to do the same each year.

With Wilson and Herndon each ascending from special teams ace to starter on defense over the last several seasons, the natural player to potentially follow in their footsteps is cornerback Luq Barcoo.

There are other potential standouts, of course, such as running back James Robinson, but Barcoo was widely seen as Jacksonville's top undrafted free agent signing. Most projected him to be drafted after a standout career at San Diego State, but he instead was available for the Jaguars to sign to a large deal as a free agent.

A former JUCO transfer from Grossmont College, Barcoo stepped into a starting role with the Aztecs in 2019 following a year as a reserve and special teamer in 2018. In his first year as a starter in 2019, Barcoo led the nation in interceptions (nine) and pass breakups (16).

Barcoo went on to impress in Jacksonville's training camp this August, impressing both his coaches and his teammates with his natural playmaking ability. This helped secure him a spot on the 53-man roster, one of four rookies to do so at cornerback for the Jaguars.

“Well, he’s a smart player. He has very good length. He’s still learning the position, but we feel like that he’s got a lot to develop with his length, his size, his speed, his athleticism, and he made some plays on the ball," Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said on Saturday after the 53-man roster was made official.

"So, we’re excited from what we saw. We wish we were able to see some of those guys in some game type of situation to deal with some adversity but if he has to play for us, his first action’s going to be on the live stage against NFL talent.”

Barcoo had to compete for a spot on the roster with several other players, including fellow undrafted rookie Amari Henderson, as well as Parry Nickerson, Tramaine Brock and seventh-round draft pick Chris Claybrooks.

Barcoo did enough in training camp to stand out among this group, in large part because of his natural ability to make plays on the ball. He made one of the standout plays in training camp of any cornerback during a team drill, deflecting a perfect deep pass from Gardner Minshew to DJ Chark by using his length and timing his dive.

"He’s a very talented young man," Jaguars cornerbacks coach Tim Walton said on Aug. 22.

"And that’s just now of everybody, like a guy like him. Just keep being able to apply the techniques, learn some things that you did differently in college. But he has a high skill set, upper-level talent, ball is important to him. He has the traits; he just has to keep working on the technique and do those things. He has ball skills, you know he was very productive in college, so I think he has a big upside and he has the skill set that you’re looking for at the position.”

It took Wilson a few years to become a starter, instead serving as the team's No. 3 safety and as a key special teamer up until 2019. But last year he started all 16 games for the team, playing every single defensive snap and leading the team in tackles. Considering he is a homegrown talent who was once an undrafted free agent, he is a solid acquisition for the Jaguars.

Similarly, Tre Herndon made the team as an undrafted rookie out of Vanderbilt in 2018 but it wasn't until 2019 that he got time on defense. He started 13 games for the Jaguars last season, earning a spot on the starting defense after Jalen Ramsey forced his way out of Jacksonville. Herndon went on to lead the team in both interceptions (three) and pass deflections (13).

Like Wilson and Herndon before him, Barcoo may have to carve out a role on special teams and continue to develop before he sees the field as a starting cornerback. But the Jaguars have a history of success with developing those kinds of players, and Barcoo has the talent, pedigree and production to suggest he could be the next success story in the secondary.

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