Jacksonville Jaguars have wasted no time and introduced their new defense

The Jacksonville Jaguars showed new faces on both sides of the football in their loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 on Sunday.

The game was:Jaguars offense faltered in Week 1 in 20-17 loss to Miami Dolphins

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson made a dramatic change at the start of the offseason: he fired most of the defensive coaching staff and replaced them with defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen and his brothers.

On offense, Jacksonville added two new receivers, Gabe Davis and Devin Duvernay, via free agency before grabbing Brian Thomas Jr. in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Jacksonville also signed center Mitch Morse in hopes he could help bring stability to an offensive line that struggled last season.

On defense, the Jaguars signed several players, including cornerback Ronald Darby, defensive lineman Arik Armstead and defensive back Darnell Savage. They then drafted DL Maason Smith and CB Jarrian Jones.

Most, if not all, of their new signings during the offseason played an important role on Sunday.

We look at the snap counts on offense and defense in Week 1 and provide an overview of what they might mean.

Analysis of the Jaguars' offensive snap counts in Week 1: Gabe Davis plays 94% of the snaps

OL Anton Harrison: 53 snapshots (100 %)
OL Cam Robinson: 53 snapshots (100 %)
OL Ezra Cleveland: 53 snapshots (100%)
OL Mitch Morse: 53 snapshots (100 %)
OL Brandon Scherff: 53 snapshots (100 %)
QB Trevor Lawrence: 53 snapshots (100%)
WR Gabe Davis: 50 snapshots (94%)
WR Brian Thomas Jr.: 41 snapshots (77%)
WR Christian Kirk: 38 snapshots (72%)
RB Travis Etienne: 37 snapshots (70%)
TE Evan Engram: 68 snapshots (68 %)
TE Brenton Strange: 19 snapshots (36%)
RB Tank Bigsby: 17 snapshots (32 %)
TE Luke Farrell: 14 snapshots (26 %)
WR Parker Washington: 7 snapshots (13%)
WR Devin Duvernay: 5 snapshots (9%)
WR Tim Jones: 1 snapshot (2%)

Analysis:

Davis' high snap percentage is what stands out most when looking at Jacksonville's offense. Davis also made an immediate impact, catching all three passes thrown to him for 62 yards, more than any other Jaguar.
Jacksonville's offensive line played a full game together to open the 2024 season. Injuries had severely affected this group last season, and they came out of the game injury-free.
Bigsby played his best game as a Jaguar. He led the team in rushing yards with 73 yards on 12 carries (6.1 yards per carry). Despite this, he played the fifth-fewest snaps, leaving the majority of the running back snaps to Etienne, who added 44 yards on 12 carries (3.7 YPC) and a touchdown. Etienne also had two catches for 15 yards.
Jacksonville rarely played with two tight ends, instead playing the team's only tight end on most snaps. Engram caught one pass for five yards.

Analysis of the Jaguars' defensive snap counts in Week 1: 20 defenders play at least 10 snaps

S Antonio Johnson: 71 snapshots (100%)
CB Ronald Darby: 70 snapshots (99%)
S Andre Cisco: 64 snapshots (90%)
Linebacker Foye Oluokun: 60 snapshots (85%)
DL Josh Hines-Allen: 58 snapshots (82%)
Linebacker Devin Lloyd: 53 snapshots (75%)
Centre-back Tyson Campbell: 53 snapshots (75%)
DL Travon Walker: 52 snapshots (73%)
DB Darnell Savage: 49 snapshots (69%)
DL Roy Robertson-Harris: 42 snapshots (59%)
DL DaVon Hamilton: 36 snapshots (51%)
DL Arik Armstead: 31 snapshots (44%)
DL Mason Smith: 29 snapshots (41%)
DL Tyler Lacy: 24 snapshots (34%)
CB Montaric Brown: 19 snapshots (27%)
CB Jarrian Jones: 16 snapshots (23%)
LB Yasir Abdullah: 16 snapshots (23%)
DL Myles Cole: 11 snapshots (15%)
LB Chad Muma: 10 snapshots (14%)
LB Ventrell Miller: 10 snapshots (14%)
DB Terrell Edmunds: 6 snapshots (8%)

Analysis:

20 defenders played at least 10 snaps on Sunday, including seven defensive backs. By comparison, last year Jacksonville had only 15 players and five defensive backs playing 10 or more snaps in the first game against the Colts.
Hines-Allen played 83% of the team's snaps despite the defensive line rotation being the main focus. Conversely, four defensive tackles, including Robertson-Harris (42 snaps), Hamilton (36), Smith (29) and Lacy (24), played in a heavy rotation.
After playing 100% of the team's snaps in 2023, Oluokun played 85% of the snaps. Lloyd played 97% of the defensive snaps in 2023, but saw only 75% on Sunday. Muma and Miller played 10 snaps in certain packages, a new peculiarity for Jacksonville's defense under Nielsen.
Savage, a chess player, played 49 snaps on Sunday. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 25 snaps as a slot corner, 11 as a free safety and two as a left or right outside linebacker near the line of scrimmage. Savage's usage will be one of the most interesting aspects of the team's defense.
Armstead played 23 snaps as a left defensive end, two as a right defensive end, five as a defensive tackle and one as an inside-the-box linebacker/stand-up defensive lineman.

Jacksonville Jaguars have wasted no time and introduced their new defense

You may also like...

Recent Posts

Jacksonville Jaguars have wasted no time and introduced their new defense

You may also like...

Stevie Nicks recreates Taylor Swift's viral promotional post

OU and local law enforcement prepare for increasing violence on campus

Green Bay Packers vs. Indianapolis Colts, Game Updates, Injury Report, TV, Odds, Depth Chart

Recent Posts