One of the elements to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ roster that fans knew needed to change was the defense. That’s exactly why many of them were excited to see first-year defensive coordinator Joe Cullen return to Jacksonville after last spending time with the Baltimore Ravens.
Like the Jags’ new lead man Urban Meyer, Cullen has high expectations out of the gate for the Jaguars’ defense, despite the team coming off a one-win season. On Tuesday, he told the media that he likes his current group’s chances to be significantly better than the unit from 2020, especially after a productive offseason of mixing in new personnel.
“… We have a really good group of defensive linemen that were here, K’Lavon [Chaisson], Josh [Allen] had 10.5 sacks [in 2019],” Cullen said. “Then the free agent acquisitions we were able to bring in, Roy Robertson Harris, Jihad Ward, those guys have gotten after the quarterback in this league. I’m excited to work with Taven [Bryan], bringing Malcom Brown here.
“We have a good group and the two young guys that we brought in via the draft. We’re excited and I’ll tell you it’s going to come from a lot of different area. It’s going to come from the pressure that we bring in terms of blitzes, it’s going to come from a four-man rush, and really, it’s going to come from a collective unit defensively, our rush work, but also our coverage being able to make the quarterback hold the ball. It’s going to go hand in hand but I’m excited and really, we’ll find out in the fall.”
A key to turning it all around on defense will be getting to the quarterback. Last season they didn’t do that well, totaling just 18 sacks (the NFL’s second-lowest total) on the entire season. Clearly, that number will need to be a significantly better figure and Cullen believes the Jags’ personnel can double it in 2021.
“I absolutely do [think it is],” Cullen said when asked if doubling the team’s sack figures was possible. “I absolutely feel like we could. Part of that is playing with leads, part of that is that you get out in front of people, but yeah, I absolutely do. I think we had 18 or 19 last year, but for the people that we have and the guys that we have, the depth that we have, yes, I believe that’s a realistic goal.”
While the Jags didn’t add any Pro Bowl-caliber players in the trenches this offseason, they certainly added experienced players who’ve had success and have been on successful defenses. When mixing that in with talents like Josh Allen, K’Lavon Chaisson, DaVon Hamilton, Doug Costin, and others who were already on the roster, there is a good chance the Jags can take a step forward defensively under Cullen’s tough mindset.