Jacksonville Jaguars have 15th best cornerback group
By Daniel Lago
One of the weak spots along the defense last year, cornerback might be a position of strength now for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the worst pass defenses in the entire league in 2015, a fact that was all too evident on third and longs. Opposing offenses routinely converted on obvious passing downs and the blame for it was spread along every level of the defense.
The defensive line couldn’t get a pass rush, the linebackers were slow, and the coverage in the back-end was insufficient. Among the cornerbacks, the only player who was somewhat reliable was the newly acquired Davon House.
The Jaguars aggressively addressed the position in free agency and the draft, adding two high level starters in Prince Amukamara and Jalen Ramsey. Even with Aaron Colvin suspended for the first four games, the Jaguars now have a respectable nickel group of defensive backs.
Pro Football Focus thinks all of these improvements have made the Jaguars’ cornerback group the 15th best in the NFL.
"15. Jacksonville JaguarsTop CBs: Davon House, Jalen Ramsey, Prince AmukamaraKey stat: Ramsey posted a 54.5 completion percentage allowed at Florida State last season.Even before the acquisition of Jalen Ramsey in the draft, the Jags’ secondary had already made strides, and Ramsey could now cap off an ascending group of cornerbacks. Davon House surrendered a passer rating below 80.0 in his first season in Jacksonville, while free-agent signing Prince Amukamara was tied for 17th in the league, surrendering only 1.04 yards per coverage snap. After Ramsey fell into Jacksonville’s lap during the draft, the Jags now boast unexpected depth at cornerback with the likes of Aaron Colvin now competing for playing time and roster spots."
If the Jaguars have an above average group of corners – as a 15th ranking would insinuate – that would be a remarkable improvement. What will be interesting to see over the course of the regular season is how the Jaguars deploy the top 3 corners. Amukamara is ideally an outside corner, but the team probably wants Ramsey to start on the outside. Ultimately, I think the Jaguars will keep Ramsey on the outside in 2 cornerback sets and kick him inside or let him roam on obvious passing downs. Regardless, the Jaguars will be able to field at least 3 solid corners and that should help the defense immeasurably.