Jacksonville Jaguars Mid-Season Report Card – Grading the Defensive Backs
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars are in the midst of arguably the most inept stretch of football in the history of the NFL. Mercifully, they have a bye this week to regroup and reevaluate some players and decide how to approach the last 8 games.
The bye week also gives us the opportunity to grade the personnel and their performance so far. Today we examine the youngest group on the team – the defensive backfield.
| Snaps | Tks | Miss. Tks. | INT | Pass Def. | TDs Allow. | %Catch | PFF Coverage | PFF Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnathan Cyprien | 552 | 40 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 75.0 | -14.6 | -19.4 |
| Alan Ball | 450 | 23 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 69.0 | -1.9 | -1.5 |
| Will Blackmon | 448 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 58.3 | 0.5 | 6.0 |
| Josh Evans | 426 | 25 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 81.3 | -6.2 | -10.5 |
| Mike Harris | 226 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 75.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Demetrius McCray | 85 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60.0 | -1.3 | -1.2 |
| Dwayne Gratz | 81 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60.0 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
Oct 27, 2013; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars safety Johnathan Cyprien (37) during the NFL International Series game against the San Francisco 49ers at Wembley Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Jaguars 42-10. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The defensive backfield is comprised of primarily younger players and they have performed at that level so far this season. Rookie Johnathan Cyprien was thrown into the fire week 1 and has struggled mightily in coverage. He has the second worst PFF grade of all safeties behind only Major Wright and he has by far the worst coverage grade. Cyprien has flashed some of the physicality that could make him an impact player but he has a way to go as far as reacting to plays and disrupting the passing game.
Fellow rookie safety Josh Evans was forced into the lineup after Dwight Lowery (who isn’t included here) was injured and he’s steadily improved. Like Cyprien, Evans has struggled in coverage especially against tight ends but he’s also shown some potential. These two young safeties have a lot of room to grow and are hopefully learning a lot from their time on the field now.
The Jaguars have actually gotten some good play at cornerback, particularly from veterans Will Blackmon and Alan Ball. Blackmon has indisputably been the best player on defense and Ball has rarely been smoked or been seen blowing coverages. Second year player Mike Harris has also shown the ability to cover slot receivers and hasn’t been a liability. Dwayne Gratz and Demetrius McCray have seen limited time but both have been solid especially for rookies.
Mid-Season Grades: Defensive Backs
Johnathan Cyprien – D
Alan Ball – C+
Will Blackmon – A-
Josh Evans – D
Mike Harris – B-
Demetrius McCray – C+
Dwayne Gratz – C+
– Daniel Lago
Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89