Jacksonville Jaguars: 5 players who will be much better in 2015
By Luke Sims
Sep 22, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars safety Johnathan Cyprien (37) forces a fumble by Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Jaguars 45-17. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
3) Johnathan Cyprien, SS
Johnathan Cyprien put together a solid end to his rookie campaign in 2013. The final six weeks of the season were particularly impressive for the young safety. So it was logical to expect a jump for him in 2014.
Instead, we witnessed a Cyprien who regressed in most every way. No sacks, no interceptions, and just three credited pass breakups made 2014 pretty miserable. His tackling numbers rose, but that may point more to the problem than anything else: Cyprien was simply trying to do too much.
Nobody was more happy than Cyprien to see the Jacksonville Jaguars bring in fellow safety Sergio Brown in free agency and then add to the core of defensive backs with Davon House at corner and fourth round draft pick James Sample. Sample and Brown figure to be the free safety competitors and will be much better than the mediocre guys along side Cyprien in recent years including major disappointments Josh Evans and Winston Guy.
Having more support in the secondary will free up Cyprien to focus on playing a true strong safety role and excelling at it. He hasn’t managed to capitalize on his potential in large part because of the dearth of talent on the Jaguars roster. As that talent continues to rise, so will Cyprien’s ability to make plays. The best safeties in the business rely on the other players to competently do their jobs and Cyprien may finally have a group of players around him who can do that.
It’s up to Cyprien to prove that was actually the problem. I think it was and fully expect to see him return to form in 2015.
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