Jaguars fourth-year cornerback Montaric Brown has steadily moved up the depth chart since he was drafted within the seventh round in 2022.
He was only lively for eight games as a rookie with one start before carving out a part-time role in 2023 with 12 games played and 6 starts. Last yr, he appeared in every game with 10 starts and a 72% snap share that led an injured cornerback room.
Now, Brown is contending for a full-time starting job opposite Tyson Campbell, in line with ESPN’s Michael DiRocco. He performed well in first-team reps during spring practices, which should put him within the lead as training camp approaches later this month. Behind him is 2023 third-rounder Jarrian Jones, who primarily played nickel last season and said within the spring that he had no experience with the zone coverages run by recent Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.
One other factor is No. 2 pick Travis Hunter, who spent a while at cornerback within the spring. Jacksonville remains to be ironing out the small print of their plans to make use of him on either side of the ball, but he is anticipated to primarily play receiving while rotating in at cornerback.
If Jones is in a position to adapt to Campanile’s scheme while moving to the boundary, he could push Brown for the CB2 job and offer a simple solution to the questions surrounding Hunter’s usage. Jones could start opposite Campbell and slide into the slot in nickel and dime sets with Hunter replacing him on the boundary.
A Campbell-Brown starting duo, nevertheless, would complicate Hunter’s path to getting on the sphere. He primarily played on the skin in college, saw substantially higher slot usage in 2024. That will must proceed in Jacksonville to share the sphere with Campbell and Brown, neither of whom have spent much time at nickel.
The Jaguars also signed Jourdan Lewis to a three-year, $30MM contract this offseason, indicating the team’s recent regime has a plan for him, too. He has played 3,400 snaps within the slot during his eight-year profession in Dallas, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), so he’ll likely push for the starting nickel job as well.
Jacksonville can have to juggle their recent investments and various positional suits right into a functioning secondary during training camp. Campanile will likely test various cornerback duos and trios to determine which grouping offers probably the most upside.