Free agency is almost here, and the Jacksonville Jaguars had better have their ducks in a row, as they're due to see a very deep market for cornerbacks. With Travis Hunter moving to CB1 full-time next season, the Jags need to figure out who will play on the other side of him.
When the 2025 season started, there was a chance for Tyson Campbell to fill that role and give Jacksonville a dynamic duo of man corners on the boundary. Unfortunately for the former Georgia Bulldog, he didn't do enough to impress the new regime and was shipped off to Cleveland in exchange for Greg Newsome. However, he didn't fare any better.
Newsome never quite found his footing, and his disappointing performance against the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card round essentially sealed his fate. Depending on how you look at it, the Northwestern alum's expiring contract could be a good thing for the front office. There's even a chance that the 25-year-old defender could catch on with a team like the Atlanta Falcons. That would be great for Newsome if it happens, but it could leave the Jags in a weak position heading into free agency.
Luckily, there's an affordable target James Gladstone can pursue to fill one of the biggest holes on the defensive side of the roster.
Alontae Taylor can help the Jacksonville Jaguars shore up their secondary
Alontae Taylor is an experienced corner who's had no less than 11 passes defensed every year he's played in the NFL. While he's only had four interceptions throughout his first four seasons (including two in 2025), he's shown a willingness to tackle and rush the quarterback as well.
Sports Illustrated's Gilberto Manzano and Matt Verderame predict that Taylor will sign a three-year, $35 million contract with whichever team decides to bring him in once free agency starts. If my math is correct, that comes out to about $11.66 million per year. That price tag would be a reasonable request for a team that has to restructure some contracts and let a few big names go just to get under the salary cap either way.
Manzano and Verderame ranked Taylor as the 13th-best free agency prospect on their list. According to them, the DB's best fits are Jacksonville and the Las Vegas Raiders. The Jags are in a better position than the Raiders to compete for a postseason spot if the season started today, but the long-term future of the team's finances could be in jeopardy if it chases wins instead of building something sustainable.
I think Taylor would be a good addition to the Jaguars' roster if Gladstone could land him. However, there's also a strong class of defensive backs who just got done participating in the NFL Combine. If the front office can make a trade that gets them back into the first round, they'd probably find a star to add to the secondary. Knowing this, signing a corner in free agency shouldn't stop the franchise from drafting the best players available and raising the roster's ceiling as high as possible.
If the Jags had played the Bills with Taylor and a prospect like Chris Johnson in the backfield, the result would probably be different. This is because either player would've been an upgrade over who Jacksonville actually fielded in the end.