Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 most important preseason developments

How will the Jacksonville Jaguars’ secondary fare in 2021?

The Jaguars’ brass revamped their secondary this offseason, signing players such as cornerback Shaquill Griffin and safety Rayshawn Jenkins in free agency. Moreover, they selected Tyson Campbell 33rd overall and Andre Cisco in Round 3 of the draft. The secondary looks solid on paper but the group has struggled in two straight preseason games.

Against the New Orleans Saints in Week 2 of the preseason, they made quarterback Jameis Winston look like Peyton Manning, and couldn’t stop him from scoring in consecutive drives. The Jags didn’t fare much better against the Cleveland Brown the week before, allowing 319 yards and two receiving touchdowns.

It’s not time to panic yet but the Jaguars need to do a better job of stopping the pass. Last season, they ranked 27th in passing touchdowns allowed. In particular, Campbell has given up touchdowns in back-to-back games. When asked if he was concerned, head coach Urban Meyer said he was but added that team is really high on him.

"Of course, it worries us but we asked them to play as hard as they possibly can and the coach’s responsibility to somehow get them in those, I call snatch, snapshot moments. How do you do that without, okay go run 40 yards? So we’re gonna do some creative things out there to judge it. He misjudged it. And then the other one, he didn’t lead back in the first game… we’re really high on him. I think his future is real strong."

Not everything is gloom and doom though. Second-year cornerback C.J. Henderson has played well over the last two weeks and has a legitimate shot to start opposite Griffin in the season opener after missing a good chunk of training camp. Also, Cisco has put his athleticism on display and looks like a good bet to join the starting lineup at some point of the 2021 season. The Jaguars’ secondary hasn’t performed particularly well in the preseason but they still have time to right the ship before Week 1.