The season hasn't started yet, and the Jacksonville Jaguars are already having injury problems in the secondary.
Cornerback Montaric Brown and safety Caleb Ransaw have missed a good chunk of training camp and may not be ready for the season opener against the Carolina Panthers. On the other hand, cornerback Tyson Campbell has been day-to-day, though his injury doesn't look to be serious. Then again, not everything is doom and gloom in Jacksonville.
CornerbackJarrian Jones is coming through for the Jaguars
While you never want to see a teammate injured—especially in training camp—second-year veteran Jarrian Jones didn't waste any time stepping up. We may have been talking about him for some time, but now he's finally starting to get the eyes of other NFL analysts. John Shipley is singing his praises in a recent Sports Illustrated piece.
"Jarrian Jones is one of the Jaguars' three best full-time cornerbacks," Shipley writes. "Now that doesn't include Travis Hunter, but it does show the strides Jones has made. He should be the starter opposite of Tyson Campbell."
Shipley continued, "Jones had several pass breakups throughout the day, including a tightly-contested rep against Brian Thomas Jr. on the final play of the day. It looked like Thomas had a sure touchdown on a deep shot, but Jones broke it up and was met by several of the defense's leaders in celebration as a result."
This comes after his jaw-dropping one-handed interception early in training camp. Simply put, Jones is making the most of his chances.
Related: Travis Hunter proving doubters wrong with jaw-dropping showing at Jaguars camp
FSU stand out looks to make an impact in his second year
Drafted 96th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft from Florida State University, Jones didn't have the stand-out rookie season he was hoping for. While he didn't play poorly—his six pass break-ups place him in the top 15 percent of corners, and Pro Football Focus ranks him 57th overall—he struggled with 12 missed tackles
Now, with his consistently high performance in training camp, we're jumping on the Jarrian Jones hype train.
Two weeks ago, the rising star took a moment to speak with Jacksonville's local News 4 after a practice (1:40 mark), "I'm a lot calmer now...last year, everything was new to me...I feel like now, I'm settling in, I'm more comfortable. I'm picking up on small details of the offense, and everything is coming together for me."
When discussing the Week 1 opener against the Panthers, he believes his experience will help him shine, "It's not like, 'Oh, I've never done this before.' I know exactly what to expect...I know exactly how I fit into this."
With injuries forcing him to move from a slot corner to working outside, Jones is looking to return to form. "This is exactly what I've asked for, what I've prayed for. [Playing in the] slot was new to me. [Playing outside is] what I've been wanting to do. It's what I've always done."
There you have it. Jarrian Jones' time to shine has come, and he isn't putting it to waste.