Big Cat Country
The biggest question mark defensively for the Jaguars may be this year’s safety room.
It’s no secret the Jacksonville Jaguars were deficient on defense last season, and especially so when it came to stopping the pass. A lot of that was due to problems with the team’s safeties.
In this week’s edition of the state of the roster, we are taking a look at a revamped collection of safeties that has a mix of veteran talent and young, exciting draft picks waiting in the wings.
Whereas the cornerback room could stand to be an automatic bright spot on this squad, the safety unit could be anything. What will the Jags get from Darnell Savage and Antonio Johnson? Can Eric Murray make as big an impact as they hope? Is someone like Rayuan Lane the future?
There are a healthy amount of question marks with this unit, even including who is going to start once the season begins.
Contract: Second year of a 3-year, $21,750,000 deal.
Age: 27 (28 on July 31).
Games Played: 85 across six-year career, 13 last year in Jacksonville.
Stats: 51 tackles, one interception, six passes defended.
Notes:
Savage returns after an up-and-down year last year as the likely starter opposite of Murray. He played all over the field last season and will be asked to use his range again this season, mostly just at the safety position. The defense as a whole was a mess last year and Savage likely has drawn ire because of that. In new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile’s system, Savage may be able to take a bigger leap and make a larger impact given the skillset he has displayed across his career.
Contract: First year of a 3-year, $19,500,000 deal.
Age: 31 (32 in January).
Games Played: 124 across nine seasons.
Stats: Career-high 10 passes defended last year, 385 career tackles, three picks, five sacks.
Notes:
The big free agent addition to Duval County was Murray by way of the Houston Texans. Murray is coming off a banner year, with a career-high 10 passes defended and a career-best 75 tackles. Since being drafted in 2016, Murray has played in 17 games just twice, including last season. Murray’s PFF grades last year were all about at the average mark earning a total grade of 63.8 (Savage ranked at 46.9). The key numbers are that Murray played almost 900 total snaps with a healthy distribution between run defense (321) and coverage (520). He missed just 13 tackles all year. If the Jags want a pair of athletic, do-it-all safeties, they seem to have it in Savage and Murray.
Contract: Third year of a 4-year, $4,141,832 rookie deal.
Age: 23 (24 in October).
Games Played: 30 across two seasons in Jacksonville.
Stats: Two career picks, five career passes defended, career-high 17 games played last season.
Notes:
Johnson didn’t have nearly as impressive a sophomore season as he did in his rookie year. Going back to PFF numbers, Johnson posted...
