In his first press conference, new Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen kept his cards close to the vest. Sure, he talked about his desire to build an “attacking and aggressive” defense, but there aren’t exactly coordinators talking about constructing a cordial, peaceful defense.
When asked a specific question about his vision for Travon Walker’s role, Nielsen only said “we’ll put our guys in the best positions for them to have success.”
But if there was a moment when Nielsen actually pulled back the curtain a bit, it was when he was asked about generating pressure on third down. While the Jaguars finished the 2023 season 25th in the NFL in sacks, it wasn’t the team’s pass rushers that Nielsen pointed to as the issue.
“The first thing we have to do is affect the quarterback in that we can’t allow the ball to come out of his hand quickly,” Nielsen said. “Then the rush doesn’t get there. If the coverage has holes in it or give an easy throw, it doesn’t matter who we’ve got coming off the edge. We’ve got a couple of good edge guys here. We have to get the quarterback to hold it.”
It seems Nielsen has no concern with Walker and Josh Allen getting to the quarterback. He’s instead focused on making sure the team’s defensive backs aren’t getting beat off the line of scrimmage.
I like new #Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Neilsen. I’m also moving cornerback way up on my draft expectations.
— Hays Carlyon (@HaysCarlyon) February 15, 2024
On top of all these, that presser screamed Rd 1 CB to me:
“Nothing cheap nothing deep” + mentioned no coverage holes on third down + talked about CBs tackling and the defense being “forward leaning” https://t.co/AsnRxju3A7
— marhsim (@marhsim) February 16, 2024
Tyson Campbell struggled through injuries for much of the 2023 season, but has a good chance at being a cornerstone of the Jaguars defense moving forward. Darious Williams had a much better year than Campbell, but has a much murkier future in Jacksonville due mostly to an $11.5 million 2024 cap hit that could result in his release.
The rest of the Jaguars’ depth chart at cornerback consists of players they found late in the NFL draft (Gregory Junior, Montaric Brown, Christian Braswell, Erick Hallett) and undrafted free agency (Tre Herndon).
When the Jaguars hunted for talent at the midseason trade deadline, cornerback was one of the spots they considered to be most in need of a boost before eventually addressing the offensive line instead.
There’s no doubt that the team’s lackluster pass rushing depth is an issue. Nielsen has seemingly identified the team’s cornerbacks as the higher priority, though.
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