{"id":293007,"date":"2026-07-23T11:00:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T15:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=293007"},"modified":"2026-07-23T10:25:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T14:25:52","slug":"the-jaguars-2026-cornerbacks-are-they-good-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/07\/23\/the-jaguars-2026-cornerbacks-are-they-good-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"The Jaguars’ 2026 Cornerbacks: Are They Good Enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jaguars’ cornerback room has seen a lot of changes over the last two seasons. Players such as Jourdan Lewis and Greg Newsome II were added in 2025, while Jarrian Jones and Montaric Brown<\/a> returned from the previous season. With Greg Newsome II leaving in free agency, Travis Hunter<\/a> will replace him at outside cornerback.<\/p>\n

These four defensive backs have shown that they are a talented group, but questions remain about just how good they are. Travis Hunter is still unproven, Jarrian Jones has shown flashes but has not put it all together, Jourdan Lewis is entering his 10th season and is coming off an ankle injury, and Montaric Brown, while coming off his best season, has not fully established himself as a consistent corner year to year.<\/p>\n

The Jaguars’ 2026 Cornerbacks: Are They Good Enough?<\/h2>\n

Travis Hunter<\/h3>\n

Travis Hunter<\/a> played just 162 snaps on defense in 2025 but showed a lot of promise, allowing just a 68.3 passer rating and a 50% completion percentage. He is the least experienced of the four but has the highest upside. His feet are fluid, he rarely gets beat off the line of scrimmage or gives up leverage, and he has great instincts when the ball is in the air. The weakest link in the defensive backfield was Greg Newsome II, who Hunter will be replacing. If Hunter plays up to his potential, the Jaguars’ secondary will be a difficult one to pass against.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Jourdan Lewis<\/h3>\n

In his first season with the Jaguars, Jourdan Lewis<\/a> had a solid season, deflecting 10 passes, two interceptions, 264 yards, and a 90.1 passer rating. Lewis’s biggest struggles came in the red zone, allowing five touchdowns in 12 games. Coming off a season in which he missed multiple games, including the final two with a season-ending ankle injury, raises a lot of questions as the veteran corner enters his 10th season in the NFL.<\/p>\n

Lewis still has value as an experienced player, rarely being beaten down the field, and can help the younger players in the secondary. However, Lewis’s age and injury concerns as a nickel corner who covers quick, twitchy receivers will raise big questions about its viability<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2) blocks a pass by Indianapolis Colts quarterback Riley Leonard (15) in the second quarter during an NFL football game at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jarrian Jones<\/h3>\n

Through two seasons in the NFL, Jarrian Jones<\/a> has shown a lot of promise as a slot cornerback. His instincts when the ball is in the air are tremendous, breaking up 16 passes, catching four interceptions, and allowing just two touchdowns in his career. Heading into his third season, Jones still has untapped potential, leaving room for him to get even better and make the Jaguars’ secondary a formidable unit.<\/p>\n

Jones made big improvements in reducing yards after the catch, allowing 119 fewer yards, and defending the quick game much better, with opposing quarterbacks completing 8.8% fewer passes against Jones. Heading into 2026, Jones has the potential to become one of the best cornerbacks in football.<\/p>\n

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Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jarrian Jones (22) denies a touchdown by Buffalo Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman (0) during the second quarter in an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills lead 10-7 at the half over the Jaguars.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Montaric Brown<\/h3>\n

Montaric Brown<\/a> has had the most up-and-down career of the four players we’ve discussed. Brown first arrived as a rotational player in 2023, showing some promise in limited snaps. The next two years, however, were not kind to Brown, as he allowed 1,032 yards, seven touchdowns, a 67.2% completion percentage, and a 104.4 passer rating in this span. Entering the final year of his contract, Brown was fighting for his job on the team and potentially his place in the NFL entirely.<\/p>\n

Much like other players on the Jaguars defense in 2025, Brown had the best season of his career, breaking up 12 passes while allowing a 74.3 passer rating and a 55.9% completion percentage. Brown finally fit into a scheme that played towards his strengths, and it resulted in him being the team’s best defensive back, which earned him a long-term contract. While he is close to reaching his ceiling as a player, Brown proved he can be a valuable player to a defense and match up well against an opponent’s best receiver.<\/p>\n

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Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd (0) reacts to a fumble recovery next to cornerback Montaric Brown (30) during the second quarter of an NFL football AFC Wild Card playoff matchup, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bills defeated the Jaguars 27-24. [Corey Perrine\/Florida Times-Union]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Verdict<\/h3>\n

The Jaguars’ cornerbacks may not be the biggest batch of superstars, but they are good enough to compete with the top teams in 2026. They turn the ball over at a high rate, rarely give up explosive plays, and are continuing to gain experience and reach their potential. Another season under Anthony Campanile, and a full offseason of the group learning to play with each other will see the secondary unit take a leap in 2026.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Jaguars’ 2026 cornerback room has seen a lot of changes over the last two seasons. Jourdan Lewis and Greg Newsome II were added in 2025, while Jarrian Jones and Montaric Brown returned. Now, Travis Hunter will replace Newsome II at outside cornerback.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5773,"featured_media":293550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,13,6431],"tags":[35042,1756,34155,32476],"class_list":["post-293007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-news","category-jaguars","category-nfl-teams","tag-jarrian-jones","tag-jourdan-lewis","tag-montaric-brown","tag-travis-hunter"],"modified_by":"Sue Levine","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5773"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293007"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293545,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293007\/revisions\/293545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}