Tag: Jaguars All-22

All-22 review: Young Jaguars shine in back-and-forth loss to Jets

All-22 review: Young Jaguars shine in back-and-forth loss to Jets

The Jacksonville Jaguars sit at 3-11 on the season following their back-and-forth, 32-25 loss to the New York Jets. The 2024 season has been one of the most disappointing in franchise history and the blows continued on Sunday.

However, one of the upsides of having one of the worst records in the NFL is the opportunity to utilize and evaluate the young talent on the roster. Against New York, a handful of Jacksonville’s rookies and second-year players stood out.

Jaguars Wire takes a closer look at the All-22 from Sunday’s loss to examine the potential future pieces of the roster.

WR Brian Thomas Jr.’s historic rookie season

Should Trent Baalke hold onto his job as Jacksonville’s general manager this offseason, his first-round selection of the former LSU All-American may very well be the biggest reason why.

Against the Jets, Brian Thomas Jr. caught 10 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns, breaking the franchise rookie record for receiving touchdowns and yards while tying its rookie record for receptions in a season, putting his season total at 64 catches for 956 yards and eight touchdowns.

Thomas has become more than just a vertical threat in the passing game. He has transcended into a true No. 1 target in the passing game with plenty of room to continue growing in the years to come.

One of the reasons why Thomas has begun to receive a high volume of targets is because of his smooth, yet sudden short-area bursts and quickness at the line of scrimmage.

Take his first touchdown for example. He does a great job setting up the man defender to get his feet stuck in the grass. This allows Thomas to break quickly inside and use his explosiveness out of the break to separate.

Here’s another example of Thomas winning at the line of scrimmage. He displays a textbook split release and forces the corner to be choppy in his footwork. The separation out of the break allows Thomas to catch and run away from the defender for his second touchdown of the day.

Thomas was not asked to sit and find green grass in LSU’s offense last season, raising concerns about his ability to succeed in this area. This is an example of how just because you couldn’t do it in college, doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

This was one of the most explosive plays from the Jaguars’ offensive explosion against the Jets. Thomas does a great job of exploding out of his stance and then quickly decelerating in green grass to sit and make his number available for the quarterback. After the catch, he splits defenders and takes off for a 41-yard pickup.

Thomas must continue to improve his overall play strength to better win at the line of scrimmage against physical press-man cornerbacks. There were a couple of reps against the Jets where All-Pro defender Sauce Garnder used his physicality to disrupt the timing and tempo of Thomas’ route.

If he can add more to his frame and be more assertive against physical corners, Thomas will have taken the next step to being one of the best playmakers in the NFL. Jaguars fans will be in for a treat regardless for years to come.

Rookie CB Jarrian Jones thriving in the nickel

A nice development for Jacksonville’s defense is the emergence of rookie defender Jarrian Jones, who was a standout cornerback at Florida State just down I-10.

Jones has flashed many qualities as a nickelback and may have emerged as the team’s future at this spot. He showed impressive recovery skills and awareness in man coverage, positioning himself to make plays on the ball or disrupt the timing of the catch with physicality against opposing receivers.

Below are two quality reps in coverage against Allen Lazard and All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams.

TE Brenton Strange

With versatile tight end Evan Engram out for the rest of the season with a torn labrum, the Jaguars can see what they have in second-year tight end Brenton Strange.

Strange took over Evan Engram’s role as the F-move TE where, paired with his traditional duties in-line and as a receiver, he motioned to fullback on occasion to disguise 21 and 12 personnel looks.

Strange is an above-average athlete who was used on screens to create after the catch and shows good quickness out of breaks. He is also a reliable and tough hands catcher who caught 11 passes for 73 yards against the Jets.

All-22 review: Jaguars’ concerning red zone sequence vs. Browns

All-22 review: Jaguars’ concerning red zone sequence vs. Browns

The Jacksonville Jaguars have started the season winless following this past weekend’s defeat to Cleveland at home, 18-13. 

This was yet another game where the Jaguars had opportunities to score but failed to produce.

One painful sequence stood out from the game: a goal-to-go situation late in the first half, during which Jacksonville had to take two timeouts and settled for a field goal due to a mix of communication issues and poor execution. 

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Trevor Lawrence addressed these issues in their respective post-game press conferences. Pederson pointed to situational awareness with the play clock running down.

“It can’t happen. It just can’t happen,” Pederson said.

Lawrence pointed out the team’s red-zone struggles as the Jaguars scored touchdowns on one-of-four trips inside the 20-yard line, noting some key plays from that key first-half drive and that they must do better in these situations.

“It’s just little details. We were in the red zone twice close, inside the 5-yard line and didn’t score,” said Lawrence, who completed just 14 of 30 pass attempts for 214 yards. “You can’t do that in this league. You’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Jaguars Wire took a closer look at what happened in this specific goal-to-go sequence and how it displays bigger problems for Jacksonville’s offense, a combination of mixed assignments and head-scratching decisions by personnel and coaching alike. 

What led the Jaguars to goal-to-go 


To set the scene, it was the second quarter of the game with the Browns up 10-0 following a field goal on their previous drive. The Jaguars took possession with 9:52 left in the first half.

This drive began with a play-action to draw Cleveland’s linebackers to the line of scrimmage and get Jacksonville tight end Brenton Strange open on a deep backside post. The route concept worked. 

However, wide receiver Gabe Davis was forced to block defensive end Za’Darius Smith and predictably got beat on the edge, forcing Lawrence to bail on Strange and complete a negative check-down play to Christian Kirk.

Jacksonville proceeded to pick up positive yardage on its next four plays: A 10-yard pass to Davis, a three-yard 3rd and 1 rush by running back Travis Etienne Jr., a 20-yard follow-up scamper by Etienne, and a three-yard run by running back D’Ernest Johnson.

Then another negative play occurred. As JP Acosta of SB Nation pointed out, this was a single-back stick concept that nearly turned into a disaster for Lawrence. Cleveland cornerback Martin Emerson almost secured the interception but dropped it while falling to the ground. 

The pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage by linebacker Jordan Hicks. Still, it was on a line toward rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who needed to turn his head around quicker given how quickly the throw left Lawrence’s hand. This play was designed to create an easy third-down situation, and it nearly turned into a turnover.

Facing 3rd and 7 at Cleveland’s 35-yard line, Lawrence took off for a 33-yard gain to give Jacksonville first and goal at the two, marking one of the Jaguars’ biggest plays of the game. 

The field goal that should never have happened

The following three-play sequence encapsulates the issues Jacksonville currently faces offensively.

Before a first and goal run, Pederson is forced to call timeout due to the play clock running down, the first discombobulating domino to fall as the Jaguars were within five yards of the goal line. Lawrence took the blame for it.

‘The clock was rolling and it was after a big play. We didn’t have the urgency getting out of the huddle, getting up to the line and seeing the play clock,” Lawrence explained. “I own that one, and we took the first time-out.”

On first and goal, Jacksonville came out with 12 personnel – two tight ends, two wide receivers and one running back – and motioned Thomas right to left before the snap. 

The play-call was a dive between the tackles against an eight-man box. Center Mitch Morse did not climb to the second level to block Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, while left guard Ezra Cleveland only brushed him on his combo block.

Owusu-Koramoah filled the A-gap and recorded a tackle for loss on Etienne.

The next play is an example of a lack of executing assignments by one or multiple players, something that has plagued the team throughout the Pederson era, especially since the Jaguars began a 1-7 slide in Week 13 of last season. 

The Jaguars came out of the empty shotgun with 11 personnel – one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers. Lawrence discussed this specific play when asked about the red-zone issues Sunday afternoon.

“You look back at the drive earlier in the first half [when] we had the two time-outs … I think I missed Brian who was open, and then after that had to scramble,” Lawrence said.

It is good to see the franchise quarterback admit a mistake on a specific play like this. However, it did not help that his offense played from that specific formation in this area of the field, an empty look without additional blocking help.

While the play design and execution were good to start, Lawrence bailed from the pocket as he anticipated but did not necessarily face pressure, resulting in another missed opportunity for the Jaguars. 

Then, before third and goal, the Jaguars burned another timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty, a clear indication of poor communication which Lawrence verified post-game.

“It’s just communication. We’re getting in, getting in late, we’re trying to figure it out,” Lawrence said. “Obviously [tight end] Evan [Engram] went down today before the game, so some things changed, but it doesn’t matter. There’s no excuses. You’ve got to perform and you’ve got to be able to adjust.”

On third and goal after the timeout, the offense once again came out of 11 personnel. The formation is trips left with Thomas motioning left to right pre-snap to create doubles. 

Thomas and Strange run a bench concept to the right, while Davis and Kirk run crossers from the left. The issue here is that the play has Johnson chipping before running a delayed angle route to work from the right side of the field to the left.

As you can see above, there are no open receivers against the Browns’ Cover 1-hole defense, forcing Lawrence to attempt a tight window throw while Davis was not looking, which ended up behind the receiver and fell into the turf.

The initial pressure forced Lawrence to take an extra hitch and navigate the pocket, potentially delaying the pass’ delivery.

If anything, this is not an ideal play selection in this situation against this coverage, especially in a condensed field zone and against a Browns defense that is known for shutting down quality offenses.

After starting the sequence two yards from the goal line, the Jaguars settled for three points, four yards removed from the plane.

What to make of the goal-line sequence

This sequence and overall drive displayed a key element that Jacksonville is missing: An offensive identity. 

It has been difficult to decipher what the Jaguars’ offense is supposed to be or what they want to lean on through two games. Jacksonville’s apparent lack of vision for its offense is costing the club games, and casting a shadow over the strong performance of its defense to start the season.

Inconsistent play-calling and play choices in critical situations have been detrimental, whether it be on goal-to-go, third downs or even early downs. The Jaguars have also abandoned their successful under-center play-action passing game at times.

There are communication issues, missed assignments and a lack of discipline displayed on tape on numerous occasions dating back to last season.

Each factor was apparent in Jacksonville’s biggest missed opportunity against Cleveland, the above drive.