The Jacksonville Jaguars spared no expense to bolster their cornerback room in the offseason, signing Jourdan Lewis in free agency and later making a bold trade to select two-star Travis Hunter in the NFL Draft. On the other hand, the Jags surely expect Tyson Campbell and sophomore Jarrian Jones to get extended playing time. If that wasn't enough, there's a veteran who gets lost in the shuffle but is making a strong case to earn some kind of role next season: Montaric Brown.
A seventh-round pick in 2022, Brown saw ample playing time on defense the past two seasons. Although he's shown flashes at times, he's also been inconsistent. Heck, he might've gotten a starting job when the Jags benched Ronald Darby last year because they had nobody else in the fold. That said, the fourth-year corner is making a leap at Organized Team Activities.
John Shipley of Sports Illustrated reports that Brown had a strong outing on Day 7 of OTAs, pointing out that the fourth-year corner is making a strong case to earn a featured role next season.
"Montaric 'Buster' Brown might be my early pick to be the Jaguars' No. 2 cornerback across from Tyson Campbell," Shipley wrote. "Brown has had a strong offseason program thus far, seems to continue to get praise from the Jaguars coaches, and he is in a scheme that fits his skillset."
Shipley continued, "Brown continued his strong offseason with another big day on Monday, making an impressive pass breakup in team drills and looking in position to make several others throughout the course of the practice. His stock is up right now and it has a lot to do with how he has looked in practice since the Jaguars have hit the field."
As a rookie, Brown only played 65 defensive snaps, but that amount increased to 475 in 2023 while filling in for Campbell. By Year 3, the former Arkansas Razorback replaced Darby in the starting lineup and ended up appearing in 855 snaps (72 percent). On the other hand, he gave up a 69.1 percent completion rate and four receiving touchdowns while logging just one interception. Heck, that's one of the reasons why the team's brass brought in reinforcements to begin with.
Montaric Brown will benefit from having a banner season with the Jaguars
One starting spot is virtually earmarked for Campbell. Jones and Lewis should be the favorites to get the other, and whoever doesn't get it could man the slot. Hunter should also be in the mix but may not get much playing time on defense early in his rookie campaign.
If Brown continues to show out, though, he would give the Jaguars a tough decision. Does he start ahead of the Jones or Lewis, or should he be buried on the depth chart despite showing notable growth? That would most definitely be a good problem to have.
It's also worth noting that Brown is entering a contract season, so he'll try to raise his stock as much as he can before he hits the open market in 2026.