Jaguars HC Doug Marrone Impressed With Progress of 2020 Draft Class

Jacksonville head coach Doug Marrone has liked what he has seen from the rookie class, especially in the way they go about their work.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars having 12 rookie draft picks and one of the youngest rosters in the NFL overall, it is paramount for the team to acclimate their young players as smoothly, and as quickly, as they can. 

Luckily for head coach Doug Marrone, he has seen his young players (both his draft class and undrafted free agents) quickly take the bull by the horns early in their NFL careers, with Marrone noting during a press conference on Monday how impressed he is by the progress of the team's young core.

Marrone pointed out that his rookies adjusting to the league and team quickly could be a result of the newfound circumstances the league finds itself in 2020. Rookies have taken part in countless virtual meetings and have been at the facility at TIAA Bank Field longer than the veterans, which Marrone said could be a contributing factor to what he has seen so far. 

"Really, I thought when we started, it was probably the closest I’ve seen a young group, from a standpoint of knowing what to do, to the guys that have been here already," Marrone said Monday. 

Considering the Marrone has coached the Jaguars since 2017, and defensive coordinator Todd Wash and his system have been in place even before then, it is quite the compliment Marrone paid to his young players to say they are as up to speed as the veterans are. 

In fact for the Jaguars, this type of progression is not only positive, but it is essential. Jacksonville is set to lean on a lot of young faces this season, so any way the Jaguars can see their rookies develop at a fast pace is key. 

"And then, what usually happens when you start to practice, is you, kind of, you get in here and you go right away, and you tend to overload the installs early on. And what happens is you see this gap start to widen, where your veteran players are going—they’ve done it before and then all of a sudden, these younger players are swimming," Marrone said. 

"And I said this to myself, or I said this to the coaches the other day, it’s interesting, I said, there’s a point in camp when we should start seeing that, and we’re really not. Which is a good thing for the younger guys, because these youngers guys now have stayed up here—is there still things? Yeah there are. But this is the closest gap that I’ve seen from a coaching standpoint."

For several weeks, the Jaguars were in a ramp-up period where their players were given chances to learn and implement their playbooks and assignments before full-speed action took place. Marrone could go on to say that due to the way the Jaguars handled that period and what came along with it, he feels as if it gave "everyone an equal opportunity" to when it comes to competing on the field -- no matter if they are an eight-year veteran or a first-year player. 

But for whatever the reason is, Marrone has seen his rookies progress at a more than acceptable rate for his liking. The Jaguars made a point to target high-character players with strong work ethics during April's NFL Draft, but the players still had to actually perform and prepare like professionals once they got to Jacksonville. So far though, they have, according to Marrone. 

"What I have seen, is I have seen an unbelievable commitment of these younger guys to make sure they understand things. The one thing about this class of guys that we brought in, that I will say, of all—you know, the New Orleans team in ’06, those young guys we brought in, really had good communication skills," Marrone said. 

"Meaning, I think they’d ask questions, they had a confidence about them. I kind of see the same thing these younger guys that we brought in here today. They’re not like ‘Oh [shoot], here comes the head coach.’ They’re like, ‘Hey coach, what’s going on?’ I mean, they’re very open, they’re very—they have a hell of a lot more personality than I ever had and hope to have as we go forward.”

Marrone's respect for his rookie class isn't a one-way street, either. Rookie first-round defensive end K'Lavon Chaisson spoke Monday and agreed with Marrone's assessment that the team has a mature rookie class that is looking to learn as they go, but he also made sure to make clear that Marrone has done his part as well.

“First and foremost, Coach Marrone is a great coach. I say to all the players, he doesn’t really feel like a head coach," Chaisson said. "He tries to make everybody as comfortable as possible. He’s willing to give you advice on anything and everything that he has any experience on."