Jaguars' Coaches, Teammates Review Montaric Brown's Debut vs. Raiders

After weeks of trying new things at the cornerback position, the Jacksonville Jaguars turned to a rookie option in Week 9.

While seventh-round rookie cornerback Montaric Brown didn't start against the Las Vegas Raiders, he did make his defensive debut by playing non-special team snaps for the first time this season. Brown played 24 snaps, 41% of the Jaguars' defensive outing and splitting reps with veteran cornerback Tre Herndon. 

"Yeah well, the reasoning obviously is just in situations like this where to get Buster some opportunities to play and get him comfortable with the way he can play, and it's really nothing against Tre," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after the 27-20 win. 

"It's just a matter of having everybody available. I thought both of those guys did a nice job. Buster in particular made some plays. It will be really good for him to go back and watch this film tomorrow and really grade himself. Just to see overall how well he played and if there were anything that he might have left out there on the field."

But Mondays are always much different in terms of evaluations than Sundays. Teams and coaches are typically going off their gut judgments and live reactions when they evaluate performances immediately after the game. But on Monday, they will have finally seen the tape -- the one ultimate judgment of one's play. 

As a result, Pederson was able to give a more complete evaluation of Brown's performance during Monday's press conference. 

“I mean, Buster did some good things. I think it was good for him to get out there and just feel what game speed is like," Pederson said on Monday. 

"Having watched the tape this morning, I know he’s going to probably be a little more aggressive the next time out in that position. It was good to see, and we’ll see how this week unfolds and what Mike [Caldwell] wants to do with the personnel.”

This is more or less the same thing Brown's teammate Andrew Wingard said on Monday. With Wingard spending most of the final quarter on the field at the same time as Brown, he was able to see directly from the secondary how the rookie adjusted and responded.

And while Wingard did see some areas of improvement for the No. 222 overall pick, he also saw what makes him believe Brown is here to stay following his debut.

“There’s going to be some stuff, tackling, stuff like that. It hits fast, but I remember when I was a rookie, it does hit fast, but the guys who make it in this league, and Buster will be one of them," Wingard said on Monday. 

"You see him work every day. Experience is only going to make him better and better. I really like where we’re at. Everyone’s really bought in. Everyone knows that when one of us makes a play, we all make a play, and we’ve just got to make the plays that come to us. We’re in a good spot.”