Tag: Darious Williams

In which 2023 games did each Jaguars defensive star shine brightest?

The Jaguars’ defense tailed off late in the year, but it still had some impressive moments in 2023.

Before the 2023 season began, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defensive unit was expected to be a weakness. But there were a handful of weeks when defense won the game for the Jaguars.

When Jacksonville was at its best en route to an 8-3 start to the year, the defense was a key piece to the team’s success. The Jaguars’ played well as a unit, but the players stepped up individually at different points throughout the season.

While the defense eventually came unraveled and struggled down the stretch, here were the best single-game performances for each of the Jaguars’ key defensive players during the 2023 season:

It sure sounds like new Jaguars DC Ryan Nielsen wants cornerback help

Was Ryan Nielsen’s press conference a hint that cornerback will be a top priority for the Jaguars this offseason?

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.

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.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Top 15 plays of the Jaguars’ 2023 season

The Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs like they hoped, but they still made several impressive plays en route to a winning record.

The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t end up in the playoffs as fans hoped and most expected.

Instead of defending their AFC South title from the season prior, the team lost five of its last six to stumble to a 9-8 finish. That wasn’t enough to beat out the Houston Texans for the division crown and didn’t earn them a wild card berth either.

While the ho-hum ending to the year left a sour taste, Jacksonville’s talented roster still turned out a few impressive plays en route to a winning record in the 2023 season.

Here are the Jaguars’ top 15 plays of the season:

8 moves the Jaguars could make to create cap space in 2024

The Jaguars may need to create cap space if they hope to make moves this offseason.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are projected to enter the 2024 offseason with much more salary cap space than they did when they were over the limit heading into the 2023 offseason.

This time around, the Jaguars have more room to maneuver, but there are also some moves that could eat up that space quickly. For one, the team seems likely to franchise tag Josh Allen, which would guarantee the pass rusher about $22 million for the 2024 season.

If Jacksonville hopes to make that move along with any other additions or extensions in the 2024 offseason, the team simply has to find a way to create more room.

Fortunately for the Jaguars there are ways to make that happen. Some of the decisions will be relatively easy, others will be a much tougher call.

Here are eight ways the Jaguars could cut costs and clear space this offseason:

5 Jaguars who were 2024 Pro Bowl Games snubs

Two Jaguars players earned Pro Bowl nods, but there are a few more players who should’ve joined them.

The Jacksonville Jaguars had just two players on the list of 88 who earned 2024 Pro Bowl honors: outside linebacker Josh Allen and long snapper Ross Matiscik.

There’s still a chance that other Jacksonville players will eventually join that duo. Last year, zero Jaguars earned Pro Bowl honors on the initial roster announcements, but quarterback Trevor Lawrence and return specialist Jamal Agnew after injuries and the Super Bowl opened up more spots.

Ideally for the Jaguars, they’d have zero players participating in February and the team would instead be preparing for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.

Until then or a time when more Jaguars are added to the rosters, here are xxx players who didn’t deserve to be left out Wednesday:

Studs and duds in Jaguars’ 23-7 loss vs. Ravens

Which Jaguars players stood out most to you Sunday night?

The Jacksonville Jaguars fell to 8-6 on Sunday night when the Baltimore Ravens handed them a third consecutive loss.

It was an all too familiar formula that doomed the Jaguars in the 23-7 loss. Despite finding 333 yards of offense, Jacksonville’s only points came on one 65-yard touchdown.

The Jaguars drove inside the Ravens’ 40-yard line five times and the red zone three times, but somehow finished with zero points to show for it. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence fumbled away one of those possessions, made a crucial error that ran out the clock on another, and turned the ball over on downs late in the fourth quarter. The other two were missed field goals.

Jacksonville had its opportunities and simply didn’t come nearly close enough to capitalizing on them. Here are the players who struggled most Sunday as well as those who stood out in the losing effort:

Ten Jaguars players to watch in Week 15 matchup vs. Ravens

We’re looking at ten Jacksonville Jaguars to watch when they face the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15 on NBC’s Sunday Night Football

The Ravens are 10-3 among the four teams that can clinch postseason berths in Week 15.

Baltimore visits the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-5) on Sunday night in what could be a potential playoff preview.

Jacksonville will look to rebound after suffering their second loss in six days, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished 28 of 50 for 257 yards and three interceptions.

With preparation underway for both teams, here are 10 Jaguars to watch for in Week 15.

5 Jaguars players to watch vs. the Ravens in Week 15

Will a Jaguars wide receiver please step up?

Despite quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s active status last week, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Cleveland Browns in the second of three straight games against AFC North teams.

The Baltimore Ravens, on the other hand, beat the Los Angeles Rams to earn a third straight victory.

Even though Lawrence played last week, the Jaguars are far from complete. Wide receiver Christian Kirk is likely out for the rest of the regular season and defensive backs Tyson Campbell and Andre Cisco didn’t practice Wednesday.

Here are five Jaguars players to watch as they take on the Ravens on Sunday Night Football in Week 15:

Why the Jaguars’ defense, and the ‘other’ Josh Allen, deserve your attention

The 8-3 Jacksonville Jaguars are getting it done with a defense that may have escaped your attention. It’s time to take a closer look.

Quite under the radar, the Jacksonville Jaguars have assembled a 8-3 record, and they’re currently the AFC’s three-seed, behind the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs. The prime mover for this improvement for a team that finished 9-8 last season, snuck into the playoffs, and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round, is a defense that currently ranks fifth in the NFL in DVOA — eighth against the pass, and first against the run.

And the prime mover in that defense is clearly EDGE Josh Allen — the Josh Allen who’s having the better season of the NFL’s two Josh Allen’s. The 2019 seventh-overall pick out of Kentucky has the league’s fifth-most pressures among edge-rushers, and his 13 sacks ranks third.

Against the Houston Texans last Sunday in a 24-21 win, that defense and Allen in particular made rookie phenom C.J. Stroud as uncomfortable in and out of the pocket as he’s been in his professional career. Per Pro Football Focus, Stroud was pressured on 28 of his 46 dropbacks, and that’s exactly what it looked like on tape.

“They really didn’t do too much,” Stroud said after the game of Jacksonville’s pressure looks. “They sent some pressure, but not as much as they did early on [in Week 3, when the Texans beat the Jaguars, 37-17]. They got us a couple of times in some weird fronts with some pressure looks. I’ve got to be better with throwing the ball high and things like that, but they really didn’t do much different. They’re a sound team. They’re up front. Josh Allen and [fellow EDGE Travon] Walker set the tone.”

Allen’s two sacks in this game showed how defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell and defensive line coach Brentson Buckner are dialing things up in subtle ways to affect and upset opposing quarterbacks.

The first sack came with 3:14 left in the first quarter. Linebackers Foyesade Oluokun and Devin Lloyd mugged left guard Juice Scruggs. This made it a six-man pressure look with Olokun dropping and Lloyd occupying left tackle Laremy Tunsil, while Allen came off the left edge unblocked — not a great idea. At the same time, safety Tre Herndon blitzed from the other side on a delay from slot depth.

Allen’s second sack came with 2:24 left in the fourth quarter. Here, Allen was to Tunsil’s outside shoulder, and defensive tackle Angelo Blackson was to Scruggs’ outside shoulder. Blackson occupied Scruggs, and then Allen just made a great play, slipping through Tunsil and Scruggs and chasing Stroud down. This is a defense that can get after your quarterback in multiple ways.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys go deep on this Jacksonville defense, the secret stars that make it work, and how this can set the Jaguars up for success as the season continues.

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/kezMHowBAidIEnNC070P/1701325547079_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLnBvcHRvay5jb20vYW55Y2xpcC13aWRnZXQvbHJlLXdpZGdldC9wcm9kL3YxL3NyYy9scmUuanMiIGRhdGEtYXI9IjE2OjkiIGRhdGEtcGxpZD0ibm5zeHV0a2luNTN1ZXFsam1yZXVrM3NvaW15ZG9tY3EiIHB1Ym5hbWU9IjE5OTgiIHdpZGdldG5hbWU9IjAwMTZNMDAwMDJVMEIxa1FBRl9NODMyNSI+Cjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==”][/anyclip-media]

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 13’s biggest NFL matchups, right here:

[anyclip-media thumbnail=”https://cdn5.anyclip.com/kezMHowBAidIEnNC070P/1701325547079_248x140_thumbnail.jpg” playlistId=”undefined” content=”PHNjcmlwdCBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vcGxheWVyLnBvcHRvay5jb20vYW55Y2xpcC13aWRnZXQvbHJlLXdpZGdldC9wcm9kL3YxL3NyYy9scmUuanMiIGRhdGEtYXI9IjE2OjkiIGRhdGEtcGxpZD0ibm5zeHV0a2luNTN1ZXFsam1yZXVrM3NvaW15ZG9tY3EiIHB1Ym5hbWU9IjE5OTgiIHdpZGdldG5hbWU9IjAwMTZNMDAwMDJVMEIxa1FBRl9NODMyNSI+Cjwvc2NyaXB0Pg==”][/anyclip-media]

You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

7 Jaguars most deserving of 2024 Pro Bowl Games votes

Which Jaguars players have your vote?

Voting for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games officially opened Monday and can be done right here.

Last year, despite earning an AFC South title and a playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Jacksonville Jaguars had zero players make the initial Pro Bowl roster. Eventually, injuries and the Super Bowl opened up enough spots that quarterback Trevor Lawrence and return specialist Jamal Agnew earned the honors.

The 2023 season should probably be different, though.

Unlike last year, the Jaguars won’t need to win five straight games to claw back above .500 and into the playoff picture. Jacksonville is rolling with an 8-3 record and plenty of deserving candidates.

In a conference with quarterbacks like C.J. Stroud, Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa, Patrick Mahomes, and Justin Herbert all putting up big numbers, it could take a lot for Lawrence to get another nod. But these seven Jaguars players deserve to get in when the rosters are announced later this season: