Jaguars rookies Travon Walker and Devin Lloyd leading by the way they play

In theory, defensive coaches want to build a stout, aggressive and physical unit. Whether they achieve success is a different deal but Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell met with the local media Thursday and talked about the physicality that rookies Travon Walker and Devin Lloyd bring to the defense.

“Energy, physicalness; that’s something that really is different with those two guys”, Caldwell said. “Devin, he plays physical on the second level and Travon, he’s physical up front. What really stands out about those two is the length. They’ve increased our length on defense and they’re able to help other guys in certain ways. And they’re able to make plays themselves by being long. And both of them are extremely long”.

Caldwell went on to say that both Lloyd and Walker are leading by example.

“Really, leaders are really defined by their actions. And both guys were out there working hard and performing on the field, so guys gravitate to guys that perform well on the field and work hard. So they’re leaders not by age or leader by the way they play.

Not long ago, Caldwell said that the coaching staff has seen enough of both Lloyd and Walker and they’re no longer rookies in their eyes. Walker has logged a sack and an interception this season while Lloyd has registered two interceptions and six pass defenses.

The Jaguars rookie are having an immediate impact

Not everything has been sunshine and flowers when it comes to Walker’s and Lloyd’s respective development. The former has been called for a couple of puzzling mistakes in back-to-back games while Lloyd is coming off a game in which he gave up a 100 percent completion rate on 13 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown.

Having said that, players are always going to have an adjustment period in their rookie season. The learning curve is steeper for some but both Walker and Lloyd have made strides. Coincidentally, neither has made game-changing plays in the Jags’ last three losses, so it’s fair to say whenever they perform well, the defense thrives.

This is still a long season, so there’s a reason to believe that Lloyd and Walker will only get better. If they do, the Jaguars’ defense has a legitimate chance to be as dominant as they were during their two-game winning streak earlier this year.