The Jaguars have been a struggling franchise for several seasons. Both offensively and defensively, they have had major problems. Last season they started to show some signs of breaking through, at least offensively. The defense on the other hand was one of the worst in the league. Jacksonville’s pass rush was non-existent and they had some serious holes all over the secondary.
How Good Can the Jaguars Defense Be?
This season has been completely different for the Jaguars. Yannick Ngakoue has been one of the most productive rookie pass rushers this year, causing havoc and making big plays with three sacks and three forced fumbles through just four games. Dante Fowler has some work to do as an edge rusher and isn’t as polished as Ngakoue, but the upside is evident. Malik Jackson who came over from Denver in the offseason has been just about everything you could have hoped for. Jackson is getting double teamed and still making interior offensive lineman look silly consistently. The early success of Ngakoue and Fowler have a lot to do with the attention Malik is getting.
The defensive line is definitely the big positive of this defense. They are getting pressure and causing the QB to be uncomfortable pretty consistently. This shouldn’t take away from the seasons the linebacker group and secondary is having though. Telvin Smith is playing like an elite weakside linebacker so far this season. Week 4 was the first week Myles Jack had regular snaps on defense. He lost contain on one play which caused an explosive run but overall he definitely made his presence felt.
Jalen Ramsey and the rest of the secondary have been a large improvement over the 2015 unit too. Ramsey, the fifth overall pick in the draft in 2016, hasn’t disappointed. In fact, he’s done better than you could have hoped for. He’s shown all the makings of an elite cover corner that can line up one-on-one against any WR in the league. Davon House has had a very rough go at it so far this year after being the best corner for Jacksonville last season. Prince Amukamara has been a key addition because of it, and has more than held his own.
What Can We Expect Moving Forward?
Jacksonville’s defense still has some things to improve on and there is a couple places that they could use more depth and talent at. There is no reason not to be optimistic after what we have seen through the first four games though. The key pieces on this defense are young. It’s impossible to know if they will continue what they are doing and take the next step. If they do, this defense has the makings of a top 10 defensive group with an even higher ceiling. You never want rookies to be the guys you are counting on, but this draft class hasn’t exactly been playing how you’d expect a normal rookie class to play.
