Did the Jaguars Do Enough to Fix Their Secondary?

Shad Khan called the 2023 squad the “best team assembled by the Jacksonville Jaguars ever,” before an embarrassing 4-13 campaign that saw the end and beginning of respective regimes.

One of the key elements to Jacksonville’s 2023 season was their porous passing defense that allowed a comfortable league-high 257.4 yards-per-game. Injuries, inconsistencies, and an underwhelming defensive scheme put some of the unit’s talented personnel in compromising situations with miscommunication and a lack of playmaking ability to generate turnovers.

This offseason, the Jaguars put effort into adding more to their secondary. Tyson Campbell is the team’s clear-cut No. 1 cornerback with Jarrian Jones entering his second year as a key defender that can play inside-out efficiently and effectively.

In free agency, general manager James Gladstone brought in free safety Eric Murray and cornerback Jourdan Lewis on three-year contracts, respectively.

Through the draft, Gladstone picked Tulane defensive back Caleb Ransaw and Navy free safety Rayuan Lane II. Not to mention, Travis Hunter will have his occasional snaps during games at cornerback. Jacksonville added depth, youth, and adequate talent to their defensive back room, but did the team do enough to fix their secondary?

On paper, the Jaguars have seemingly done enough. They’ve added playmakers to a group that lacked it a year ago and the addition of guys like Lewis, Hunter, and Murray should give Jacksonville the boost needed to become, at worst, an average unit. However, there are unknowns of how they could perform until they step on the field this fall.

Campbell must stay healthy this season. As talented as he is, injuries have nagged him of consistency in the previous campaigns. Having him with a clean bill of health in 2025 could be the fix the secondary is looking for but that remains to be seen.

Furthermore, there are still some unknowns with how defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile will perform and if the personnel on the roster fit what he will be asking of them this season.

Fans will get a much closer look during training camp and the preseason, especially in joint practices against an opposing team. The regular season will impose some challenges with the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town and a trip to Cincinnati to take on a Bengals offense that is considered Super Bowl-worthy, putting a new-look secondary in Jacksonville to the test. Those matchups could come early in the season once the schedule is unveiled on May 15.

Much is to be decided on the Jaguars overall performance during the season. For now, their secondary is fixed on paper, providing some encouragement for onlookers.