Jacksonville Jaguars: Candidates for the 2019 defensive roster

Which defensive players will make the Jacksonville Jaguars final 53-man roster?

The 2019 Jaguars preseason is blessedly coming to an end. There is only one more meaningless game to play. This is great for fans, writers, announcers, etc. They get to see real football at last.

The difficult part is when a 90-man roster becomes a 53-man roster. Cuts are coming and heartbreak is ahead for some young men. Let’s take a look at the fortunate men who will be members of the Jaguars defensive team to start the season.

The defensive line is the strength of the Jaguars team. The group impressed during the preseason and will camouflage some inexperience at the other positions. The defensive ends and edge rushers are Yannick Ngakoue, Josh Allen, Calais Campbell, and Dawuane Smoot.

This is a great group that can be kept healthy with frequent substitutions. The defensive tackles are Marcell Dareus, Taven Bryan, Datone Jones, and Abry Jones.

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"“Unfortunately Taven Bryan hasn’t started to flash like a first-round talent yet,” writes James Johnson of Jaguars Wire. “He’ll be taking away a roster spot from someone who has probably outplayed him.”"

His first round status gives him more time to develop and he could or could not show great improvement during the season.

The linebacker group lacks depth and is more limited with the loss of Telvin Smith and the current placement of Jake Ryan on the PUP list. The Jaguars have a very good player in Myles Jack. Rookie Quincy Williams has speed and energy. Najee Goode, D.J. Alexander, and Joe Giles-Harris have played well in the preseason games. Leon Jacobs, a personal favorite of mine, may or may not make the final roster due to his lack of versatility.

The three cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey, A.J. Bouye, and D.J. Hayden are possibly the best trio in the NFL. Two possible additions are Tre Herndon and Breon Borders.

"“Borders is a name we’ve heard throughout training camp… Borders likely has the best chance to make the team. Herndon has many positive comments from Coach Doug Marrone,” writes Ryan O’Bleness of Big Cat Country."

The safeties are a young but talented group. The free safeties are Jarrod Wilson and Cody Davis. The strong safeties are Ronnie Harrison and C.J. Reavis. They are raw but very talented. Given time they will be very solid.

The defense looks like it has the potential to return to 2017 form. Adam Schein on NFL.com as well as other pundits rates the Jaguars defense among the top five in the league. The great fortune of Allen falling to the Teal and Black in the draft may be the event that propels this group to the top.

If the defensive line plays very strong the newbies at linebacker and in the secondary will have time to develop and the sky is the limit.