Jacksonville Jaguars have the most improved defense in the NFL on paper
By Daniel Lago
The Jacksonville Jaguars made some big acquisitions to improve the defense during free agency, but the moves they made during the draft might have put them over the top.
When the 2015 regular season mercifully came to an end for the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was clear the team needed to make some huge changes on the defensive side of the ball. Losing first round pick Dante Fowler Jr. during rookie minicamp obviously played a huge part in the disappointing performance on defense, but issues ran deep through every level.
The reconstruction on defense began by firing coordinator Bob Babich and promoting Todd Wash. After that, general manager David Caldwell went full throttle into free agency, using his league-leading cap space to sign a handful of premium veterans. Malik Jackson, Tashaun Gipson, and Prince Amukamara should all play big roles in 2016.
Then Caldwell put together arguably the best draft class in the entire league.
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Lance Zierlein over at NFL.com
anointed the Jaguars as the most improved defense
after the 2016 NFL Draft.
"No matter where Jalen Ramsey lines up in the secondary, Gus Bradley will surely have Ramsey in the lineup as he looks to use his size and playmaking potential from Day 1. For some, the fact that Myles Jack played so many different positions in college was viewed as a negative because they didn’t feel like they had a grasp of where he best fit. I see Jacksonville as the perfect landing spot for his hybrid talents on the defensive side. While Yannick Ngakoue and Tyrone Holmes have some traits and could end up battling for playing time within the next year or so, Sheldon Day has right-now ability. Day isn’t a perfect fit outside or inside up front due to his “tweener” size, but he has great feet and can be disruptive."
The Jaguars now have a good problem on their hands – they might have to cut some good players at the end of training camp. The team is stacked on the defensive line, particularly on the interior.
But the most important improvement the Jaguars made was along the edge. Losing Andre Branch and Chris Clemons was addition by subtraction, but the team now has several intriguing young prospects to throw out there and develop as LEOs.
The Jaguars are definitely better on defense. Now we just have to wait and see how much better when the games finally begin.