2018 first-round pick Taven Bryan starting to make plays for a Jaguars defense that sorely needed him to

Taven Bryan had an underwhelming rookie season, but he appears to have started to flip the switch over the last few games.

After a rookie season that provided little optimism, second-year defensive tackle Taven Bryan is finally starting to make the kind of plays the Jacksonville Jaguars hoped he would make consistently make when they selected him 29th overall in the 2018 draft. 

Bryan's 2018 season was lambasted by many after he failed to make any impact and simply looked like he didn't belong at times. In 16 games, he recorded one sack and only two QB hits and he struggled with being rotated between defensive tackle and defensive end.  

But over the course of the 2019 season, Bryan has started to flash some traits that made him such an intriguing prospect coming out of the University of Florida, such as his unique blend of athleticism and strength. In three games this season, he has recorded one sack and five QB hits, already surpassing his production from last season.

#Jaguars second-year DT Taven Bryan has had back-to-back solid performances. He tosses the OL here and finds the ball -- his awareness has been much improved pic.twitter.com/TBSqwRv3Jq

— Jaguars OnSI (@JaguarsOnSI) September 22, 2019

"I think with Taven, it’s always tough that first year, that transition year. Especially when you’re a first-round pick, everyone has such high expectations and they plant numbers in their minds in doing that," head coach Doug Marrone said this weekend following a Thursday Night Performance against the Titans where Bryan notched a sack and made plays in the run game.

"Taven’s been working extremely hard. It’s been kind of up and down, but I think these past couple of games, these last two games, you’re seeing some more consistency, which obviously is going to open up things for everyone around him, as well as him being able to produce and people seeing that he is obviously affecting teams’ offenses."

Bryan himself admits he had a bumpy rookie season, but it was an experience he is now able to draw and learn from. Too often he was focused on reading the play and blockers, which led him to spend too much time thinking and not just playing, he remarked.

"I made a lot of mistakes. It is just learning from them," Bryan said Monday.

"I was playing a little too passive. Sometimes when you get into the more head up stances you are used to trying to read it. If you get off the ball, then it makes it easier for the reading."

The elder statesman of the Jaguars defensive line, Calais Campbell, said Bryan has always had the tools to make an impact on Jacksonville's defense. Now that he has gotten more experience under his belt, he is learning exactly what he needs to do to produce as a pro.

"He is getting wiser," Campbell said. "He is starting to realize like, ‘Okay, this is what they want from me, this is how it works.’"

"He is physically blessed. It comes down to just knowing what to do and how to do it, and the more he plays the better he is going to get."

Marrone said one thing he has seen Bryan improve upon over the last year has been his ability to get off blocks. This has lead to Bryan making a more direct impact against both the run and the pass. 

Taven Bryan, man. Not a physically dominating play but he doesn't have the instincts to make this play last year at all. Little improvements leading to more positive plays pic.twitter.com/UehBI8yhvL

— Jaguars OnSI (@JaguarsOnSI) September 22, 2019

“I think that’s always been on tape. In other words, his strength, his ability to -- one-on-one -- just be able to penetrate and to knock someone back. I think what hasn’t been there for him as much as he would like, and we would like, is the ability to get off that and make a play," Marrone said Monday. 

"And now he’s’ starting to do that, and that can be something that can really help our football team, and obviously something that he’s working on and trying to do.”

For Bryan, he has been able to flip a switch in that area of his game over the last few weeks because he has been able to put his experience and lessons learnt to use. 

"It is me not so much (being) focused on what the guy is doing. It is like a timing thing. It is kind of what goes through my mind: get off, hit the guy, one-two, get off the block and try to make a play," Bryan said. 

Bryan still has a long way to go. But for a player who looked so out of place in 2018, his early play in 2019 has been nothing but encouraging.

The hope for the Jaguars defensive coaches is that Bryan can stack up solid performances throughout the season and build on it. As for Campbell, he thinks his young defensive line comrade will get there. 

"I think the biggest thing about Taven is he is physically blessed and he knows it. When he wants to, he can run through somebody. He is physically just a monster," Campbell said. 

"He is putting it together, and he is still learning. He is still scratching the surface. There is a lot of room for improvement, and he will (get better). "