Jacksonville Jaguars have 22nd best secondary according to Pro Football Focus

The Jacksonville Jaguars had one of the worst secondaries in the NFL in 2015 – how much better will they be in 2016 with a vastly different group?

When Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley took over the team in 2013, he left perhaps the best secondary in the modern era in the Seattle Seahawks. Immediately, it seemed Bradley wanted to imprint the same kind of defensive backs in Jacksonville when the team drafted Jonathan Cyprien and Dwayne Gratz.

While the group has showed some flashes, the secondary has been objectively bad since Gus Bradley took over. The team has poured plenty of resources into the group, but no player has really stepped up or developed into an impact guy. Consequently, general manager David Caldwell invested big time this offseason, adding first round pick Jalen Ramsey and free agents Prince Amukamara and Tashaun Gipson. Those three guys, along with Davon House back at corner, should give the Jaguars a significantly improved secondary.

Even with all these key additions, Pro Football Focus thinks the Jaguars secondary has a ways to go, ranking them 22nd overall.

"22. Jacksonville JaguarsProjected starters: CB Prince Amukamara, CB Davon House, SCB Jalen Ramsey, S Jonathan Cyprien, S Tashaun GipsonOther names to know: CB Aaron Colvin, CB Dwayne Gratz, S Josh EvansKey stat: John Cyprien led all safeties with 21 missed tackles last season.The Jaguars were fortunate to grab Jalen Ramsey (Florida State) in the draft, and he alone should be a significant asset to the secondary. Amukamara has graded positively in each of his last four seasons with the Giants. His problem has been his inability to stay on the field; if he can manage to avoid injury in 2016, the Jaguars could have a solid group of cornerbacks. Despite the improvements at cornerback, safety may still be a concern, depending on how exactly they use Ramsey. One question is which version of Tashaun Gipson is going to show up this season; after earning the 15th-best overall grade in 2014, he dropped all the way to 83rd out of 88 qualifying safeties in 2015. Cyprien was not much—if any—better, with a negative grade that ranked 85th."

It seems Pro Football Focus doesn’t believe much in Gipson, but I think he’s going to be a lot closer to his 2014 form than 2015. If he does play at a high level, he should elevate the play of all the cornerbacks as well.

Jonathan Cyprien is another story – he has been extremely inconsistent. There have been plenty of excuses made for him, primarily noting he is playing out of position, but this is really his last year to prove he can be a competent starting safety.

I’m fine with this ranking for now, but I’d be shocked if the Jaguars aren’t higher on this list midway through the season.