Analyst outlines reason the Jaguars defense is in good hands with Ryan Nielsen

One of the biggest changes the Jacksonville Jaguars made in the offseason wasn't to the roster but rather to the coaching staff when they dismissed defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell after two seasons on the job. After an extensive search, the top brass settled on Ryan Nielsen, who held the same position for the Atlanta Falcons in 2023.

Dan Pizzuta of The 33rd Team took a look at a handful of NFL defenses that will look different in 2024 and included the Jaguars, citing Nielsen's versatility as the reason.

"The exact effectiveness of Ryan Neilsen’s 2023 Falcons defense depends on your metric of choice. Atlanta was 10th in EPA per play but just 24th in defensive DVOA. Much of that difference comes from the Falcons’ run defense, first by EPA per play but not weighted as heavily in DVOA.

Either way, Nielsen got production out of a defense that didn’t have a lot of top-end talent and adjusted to make things work.

Nielsen relied more on a four-man rush, which, in theory, should work well with Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker. Hines-Allen has proven himself to be one of the league’s better pass rushers, but Walker hasn’t gotten there yet."

Pizzuta goes on to say that Jacksonville should expect more aggressive coverages, citing the Falcons' affinity for playing press on the line as much as they could last year.

Back in 2022, Atlanta ranked 23rd in points allowed and 27th in total yards. Under Nielsen, they were 18th and 11th, respectively. On top of that, their sack totals went from 21 to 42, and the defense ranked third in the league in third-down conversion rate. The fact that Nielsen didn't have many playmakers at his disposal makes his performance even more impressive. The Jaguars should expect a similar or bigger improvement in 2024.

With the Jaguars, Nielsen will certainly have more talent at his disposal than he did in Atlanta last year. His best pass rushers last year were Arnold Ebitekie, Bud Dupree, and Calais Campbell, who had a combined19 sacks between the three in 2023. For comparison, Travon Walker and Josh Allen registered 27.5 between the two.

It's worth noting that Nielsen's specialty is the defensive line, so Walker and Allen could be even better next season. Add the arrival of Arik Armstead in free agency, and the Jaguars will have a stout defensive front.

The Jaguars hit it out of the ballpark with the Ryan Nielsen hire

When he was hired as the head coach in 2022, Doug Pederson appointed Mike Caldwell as his defensive coordinator. Even though he had never held the position, he fared well in his first season, especially after simplifying his scheme.

Expected to build off of 2022, the defense got off to a strong start last year. However, they faded down the stretch, and things got so bad that position groups were no longer talking to each other. Of course, the omen fell on Caldwell, which is why he was given the boot.

Ryan Nielsen will bring back a renewed focus on fundamentals and technique to Jacksonville. During his introductory press conference, he said he wanted to "be attacking and aggressive in everything we do."

"How we fit the run, how we attack blocks, how we play coverage. We want to be a forward-leaning, forward-running-going forward defense," Nielsen said.

On top of that, Nielsen outlined tackling, takeaways, ball disruption, and pursuit as his priorities. The Jaguars defense could most certainly use a boost in all four areas.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off a disappointing season. They're looking to bounce back and reclaim their spot as the top team in the AFC South. They should be able to pull it off if their defense improves under Ryan Nielsen as expected.

More Jaguars analysis here: