Jourdan Lewis Is Exactly What the Jaguars Needed

The Jacksonville Jaguars' new regime knew there were two units they had to completely remake this offseason before they did anything else: the offensive line and the secondary.

The former group was attacked by the Jaguars aggressively in free agency, with Jacksonville signing four offensive linemen in free agency -- between two to three of them will be Week 1 starters.

The secondary was not far behind, however. The first player the Jaguars' new leadership brass of head coach Liam Coen and general manager James Gladstone actually agreed to terms with was veteran cornerback Jourdan Lewis on a then-record breaking deal for a nickel cornerback.

Lewis was brought to the Jaguars for a number of reasons. The primary one is because he is fresh off perhaps the best year of his career after establishing himself as one of the best nickel cornerbacks in the entire NFL.

But beyond that, the Jaguars knew they needed to add experienced leaders in the secondary who won't flinch in big spots. That is what they were missing last season, and that is exactly what Lewis has brought to the Jaguars so far alongside fellow free agent defensive back Eric Murray.

"I already think that Jourdan, as well as Eric [Murray], just being in our rooms, has already helped," Jaguars secondary coach Ron Milus said at the end of OTAs earlier this offseason.

"I mean, he's got nine years of experience playing at a high level, and I think that he's going to help our defense, just because of that. He's a pros pro again. Practices hard. He's been what we thought we were going to get. And hopefully season comes around, we're going to see those things come to light."

Lewis, who turns 30 in August, was a third-round pick out of Michigan in the 2017 NFL Draft and quickly became one of the faces of the Cowboys' defense.

Lewis spent eight years with the Cowboys, appearing in 115 regular season games and four playoff games. In his tenure with the Cowboys, Lewis recorded 10 interceptions, 44 pass breakups, 9.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles, nine fumble recoveries, 386 combined tackles, and 275 solo tackles.

Lewis appeared in 16 games for the Cowboys during the 2024 season, recording one interception, eight pass breakups, one forced fumble, one sack, three tackles for loss, and 71 total tackles.