How will the Jacksonville Jaguars defense look in 2020?

With plenty of changes this offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars defense searches for its new identity in 2020.

No matter how hard I try to do it, I cannot discuss the 2020 Jacksonville Jaguars defense without looking at the 2017 unit and wonder what happened in the past two seasons.

I’m not the only one who has this problem, as you look at other stories on different websites. And when they talk about how the Jacksonville Jaguars defense crumbled the past two seasons like hot cornbread on a summer’s dinner table, they will inevitably talk about the success of the 2017 team and how it was one of the best of all time.

Those days are gone. Players have been jettisoned and memories are the stuff fans recreate over and over again to feel better about where this team is now – at the bottom of the NFL’s wading pool – and how good the players that called DUUUVAL their home in 2017, really was.

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Judging by the looks of things this offseason and comments made recently by former players, the change will do this football organization some good. New faces replace fan favorites. Rookies were brought in to add speed and athleticism. The hard part of all this change is getting everyone to commit to the same beliefs in winning and for the coaching staff to exhale a bit while trying to implement a scheme that should look a bit different in 2020.

With the changes made by general manager David Caldwell and head coach Doug Marrone – who took a more vested interest this offseason in the player personnel side of the game – how much better or worse is the defense right now?

Truthfully, it could be considered a push.

"“There has been significant turnover since 2017. Jalen Ramsey, Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye were traded away, Telvin Smith stepped away from football, Marcell Dareus was released and Yannick Ngakoue has pledged to never play for the franchise again despite the fact that the Jaguars used the franchise tag on him,” Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com wrote."

It’s true. Those names will never be uttered in the same sentence together as part of the team’s future. It’s time to forge a new identity with Josh Allen as the headline performer and names like C.J. Henderson, Joe Schobert and K’Lavon Chaisson leading the talent pool. Then there is Tre Herndon and Ronnie Harrison to lead the secondary. There is speed on the outside and beef up front in the middle of the line. If nothing more, it shows the team’s front office is committed to trying to solve the problems of the past two seasons.

It might not be enough.

The linebackers are better with Schobert on the roster because Myles Jack is now roaming on the outside with speed to burn and running backs and tight ends to tackle. Rashaan Melvin provides veteran leadership in the secondary. And let’s not forget the 12 rookies the team drafted – many on defense and in the secondary.

The Jacksonville Jaguars identified the biggest weakness on the roster and addressed it over two months this offseason.

Since becoming the defensive coordinator of the team in 2016, this might be Todd Wash’s biggest sales job, trying to make a defense that has sputtered run on all cylinders once again. If he can do that, there will be praise for months to come. If he cannot make it work, there may be a pink slip with his name on it. It is through the middle of this defense that might seal his fate. The team added Rodney Gunter and Al Woods to also help plug the leak in the rush defense this season.

"“The interior of the line was a major issue last season after Dareus went down with a sports hernia, but Woods is a mammoth (330 pounds) run-stuffer who should improve a run defense that gave up 139 yards per game,” writes DiRocco.“Gunter is an underrated player who can play tackle or end. He’ll fill the role that Campbell used to have and while he’s not expected to have the kind of major impact Campbell did in his three seasons in Jacksonville, Gunter is a reliable player who has missed just three games in five seasons.”"