Jacksonville Jaguars 2016 Free Agency: Add a cornerback before the draft

The Jaguars shouldn’t count on the draft to fix their secondary – they need to find answers in free agency.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a handful of holes on the roster as they begin their offseason, most of which are along the defensive side of the ball. The 5th overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft is one asset essentially guaranteed to be used to bolster the defense, but free agency is going to be the real fulcrum for the change the Jaguars need before the 2016 season.

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A position addressed last offseason with moderate success was cornerback.

General manager David Caldwell raised some eyebrows last offseason when he signed Green Bay Packers free agent Davon House to a rather pricy contract to start at corner for the Jaguars. Limited to a rotational back, House shined when covering elite wide receivers in Green Bay, but caution should always be had with players who have never had a full time role.

While he wasn’t a top corner in 2015, House was a far cry better than any other corner on the team. House ended the season with 23 passes defensed, good for 3rd in the NFL behind only Marcus Peters and David Amerson. It’s not the most revealing stats since opportunity is a big component, but it shows House is around the ball often.

Outside of House, the Jaguars secondary was just awful. Dwayne Gratz showed why he needs to be released, the safety play was horrific, and Aaron Colvin failed to improve on a relatively solid rookie year. With that in mind, the Jaguars can’t stand pat at corner hoping for a player to emerge from their ranks.

The Jaguars could use the 5th overall pick in the draft on a corner, but that might be a reach. The top guys – Mackensie Alexander and Vernon Hargreaves – are ranked closer to the mid-first round than the top 5.

Even if the Jaguars do end up taking a corner early in the draft, it would still behoove them to find a corner in free agency and give themselves every option when they are on the clock in May.

For corner help, the Jaguars need to look no further than ~~St. Louis~~ Los Angeles. Two guys hitting free agency would be huge upgrades for Jacksonville and Pro Football Focus has them ranked as the 5th and 6th free agent CBs:

"5. Trumaine Johnson2015 team: St. Louis RamsJohnson is the lesser known of two free agent cornerbacks for the Rams, but he had his best season as a starter and ranked 19th at his position with an 82.2 overall player grade. Johnson allowed a 55.0 passer rating when targeted, second to only Norman this season among corners. He still needs to prove that he can sustain that level of play for more than one season, but the arrow seems to be pointing up for Johnson.6. Janoris Jenkins2015 team: St. Louis RamsWe’ve come to expect big plays when quarterbacks target Janoris Jenkins, but those could be either good plays made by Jenkins, or big plays that he has allowed. Over his four-year career, Jenkins has allowed five or more touchdowns in every season (22 total), and missed 56 tackles in 60 games. However, Jenkins has also had 13 or more combined interceptions and pass defenses in three of his four seasons. He has improved over time, and is coming off his highest-graded season in coverage, where he ranked 30th among cornerbacks. Jenkins will make some impactful plays on defense, but he has shown over the last few years that he is susceptible to giving them up, as well."

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We’ve already discussed Janoris Jenkins a bit on Black and Teal, and that’s mostly because I think Rams will end up re-signing Johnson over Jenkins. That makes the Jaguars decision easy as to who to pursue, but the situation is a little more interesting if both guys are available.

It almost makes too much sense for the Jaguars to pursue either Jenkins or Johnson. Expect them to be connected to the team as soon as free agency opens.

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