Out of the Box: Is Colvin a luxury?

Touted here to be a breakout player in 2016, is Aaron Colvin currently a luxury for the Jacksonville Jaguars?

The third year star from Oklahoma, who was one of the steals of the 2014 NFL Draft, made his presence felt in 2015, playing a key role inside and on the outside in base defense. But with the free agent acquisition of Prince Amukamara and the drafting of Jalen Ramsey, is #22 a luxury for the Jaguars this year.

His 4–game suspension to start the 2016 season has forced many to adjustment how they thought the Jaguars secondary might open the season, but it isn’t just the looming suspension at play.

Former Giant Amukamara has played out of his skin this preseason, earning rave reviews from the defensive staff and looking like being an outstanding pickup this past offseason. Amukamara looks likely to start outside opposite incumbent Davon House, with first round pick Jalen Ramsey manning the nickel, a role so successfully filled last year by Colvin. Ramsey did all of the Colvin-esque things in his preseason debut vs Tampa Bay, showing a strength in the run game and helping keep inside receivers quiet.

All of this is great news for the Jaguars and a defense that has been significantly overhauled this past off-season. But what does it really mean for Colvin? Colvin played with the first-team in the absence of Ramsey vs the New York Jets, but was relegated to second string this past weekend. Is this truly the reflection of how Bradley and Wash view Colvin or is it merely preparation for the core unit likely to open the season?

…this surely poses a wonderful conundrum for the Jaguars, so starved of talent and playmaking ability in recent years

So much can change in four weeks of an NFL season, heck even in the final two weeks of pre-season, but if a secondary group of House, Ramsey, Amukamara, Gipson and Cyprien is joined by Colvin for Game 5, this surely poses a wonderful conundrum for the Jaguars, so starved of talent and playmaking ability in recent years.

A starting-caliber player coming off the bench is a luxury, and time will tell if that luxury is Colvin, or one of the other previously mentioned defensive backs.

Key questions remain about Ramsey – is he a true outside CB or, considering many had him as a free safety pre-draft, is his best fit inside? Colvin also possesses that duplicity of skill-set and the same may be asked of him.  With a receiving corps as strong as Jacksonville’s, daily practice sees them go against some of the best in the league, so there is no better proving ground than on the Florida Blue practice fields each day.

Regardless of the ‘outcome’, it is a luxury that the Jaguars must be salivating over and one that they can afford. Competition and depth at key positions is the key to a real run at the post-season.